Elon Musk has completed his $44bn takeover of Twitter, taking control of the company and reportedly firing several top executives, including the chief executive, Parag Agrawal.
Following the takeover, Musk, in a Tweet, wrote: “the bird is freed,” referencing the company’s iconic avian logo.
Shortly after taking the helm of Twitter, Musk reportedly fired several senior figures, including Agrawal; Ned Segal, the chief financial officer; and Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal policy, trust and safety.
Agrawal and Segal were in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters when the deal closed and were escorted out, Reuters reported.
Multiple outlets reported on Thursday evening that Musk had completed the deal, capping a chaotic saga that began when the billionaire first announced his plans to buy the company in April.
The reported firings followed news last week that Musk planned to eliminate nearly 75% of Twitter’s staff in an effort to pay down a debt burden that will have grown substantially since the acquisition, which is part-funded by borrowings of $13bn. Musk later dismissed those reports, telling employees he would not cut such a large portion of the staff.
Meanwhile, Twitter did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the departure of its top executives. However, the platform’s co-founder, Biz Stone thanked the trio — Agrawal, Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde — for their “collective contribution to Twitter.”