Explained: How Elon Musk funded $44 billion Twitter deal

How did the long drawn saga between the world’s richest person and Twitter finally come to a close?

Elon Musk on Thursday closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter Inc. private and took ownership of the influential social media platform by firing top executives immediately.

"The bird is freed," he tweeted in an apparent nod to his desire to see the company has fewer limits on content that can be posted. But Mr. Musk provided little clarity on how he will achieve his goals.

Earlier this month, Mr. Musk brought the deal back on the table after previously trying to walk away from it. Elon Musk had said he was excited to buy Twitter but he and his co-investors are overpaying.

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Mr. Musk pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covered the $44 billion price tag and the closing costs. Banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp, committed to providing $13 billion in debt financing.

Experts have said commitments from banks to the deal were firm and tight, limiting their ability to walk away from the contract despite the prospect that they may face major losses.

Elon Musk's $33.5 billion equity commitment included his 9.6% Twitter stake, which is worth $4 billion, and the $7.1 billion he had secured from equity investors, including Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.