Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Stepping Down Immediately — Should You Worry About Stock Prices?
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder who stepped down as CEO on Nov. 29, is also stepping down from the social media platform’s board, effective immediately, according to reports on May 25.
See: Elon Musk Wants to Slash $44 Billion Twitter Deal by 25%
Find: Twitter Is Hemorrhaging Execs — Is it a Signal To Dump Your Stock?
The move comes on the day of Twitter’s annual shareholder meeting and at a time when the platform’s $44 billion Elon Musk takeover is still uncertain.
However, the news is not unexpected. When the announcement was made in November 2021 that Dorsey was stepping down and being replaced by Parag Agrawal, Twitter also said Dorsey would “remain a member of the Board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders.”
Twitter stock was up 3.1% in the afternoon of May 25.
Dorsey had praised Musk’s takeover of the platform in a Twitter thread in April, saying, “I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
“The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.
“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company, however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
According to Twitter’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 25, Dorsey, who is friends with Musk, holds 2.4% of the platform’s shares.
Peter Cohan, a senior lecturer at Babson College and author of “Goliath Strikes Back,” told GOBankingRates, “It also would not surprise me if Dorsey was advocating on Musk’s behalf to renegotiate the deal price — which is now too rich for Musk’s blood.”
“With Dorsey gone, Musk could walk away and pay the $1 billion breakup fee or he could sue Twitter to get out of the merger agreement. Meanwhile, I am guessing that Twitter’s board will try to force Musk to follow through on the merger contract to pay $54.20 per Twitter share in cash.”
POLL: Do You Think People Should Invest in Crypto?
Discover: From Doge to Dorsey – Reactions to Elon Musk Buying Twitter
The Washington Post reports that Twitter executives speaking at the annual investor meeting declined to answer questions about the company’s Musk deal.
More From GOBankingRates
- The 15 Biggest Bank Failures in US History
- Financial Insight in Your Inbox: Sign Up for GBR's Daily Newsletter
- Maximize your savings with these 3 expert tips
- Take Our Poll: How Do You File Your Taxes?
