The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has completed his $44 billion (£38.1bn) takeover of Twitter, according to a filing with the US government.
Mr Musk tweeted “the bird is freed” and later said “let the good times roll”.
A number of top executives, including the boss, Parag Agrawal, have been reportedly fired.
Mr. Agrawal and two other executives were escorted out of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on Thursday evening, Reuters said.
The completion of the deal brings to an end months of legal wrangling, but it has prompted questions about the platform’s future direction.
A filing was done with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, confirming the takeover.
The New York Stock Exchange said on Friday that trading in Twitter’s shares had been suspended, giving the reason as “merger effect”.
Chief financial officer Ned Segal, and the firm’s top legal and policy executive, Vijaya Gadde, are leaving alongside Mr. Agrawal, according to US media reports.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone appears to confirm the executives’ departure In a tweet, he thanked all three for their “collective contribution to Twitter”, calling them “massive talents” and “beautiful humans”.
Meanwhile, Bret Taylor – who had served as Twitter’s chairman since last November – updated his LinkedIn profile to indicate that he was no longer in the position.
Mr. Musk, a self-styled “free speech absolutist”, has been critical of Twitter’s management and its moderation policies.
They clashed over the terms of the takeover, with Mr Musk accusing Twitter of providing misleading information about the company’s user numbers.
He has also said that he would reverse bans on suspended users, which could include former US President Donald Trump, who was excluded following the Capitol riot in January 2021.
At the time, Twitter said there was a risk that Mr. Trump would incite further violence. But Mr. Musk has described the ban as “foolish”.
Earlier this week, Mr Musk said that he doesn’t want the platform to become an echo chamber for hate and division. “Twitter obviously can’t become a free-for-all hell-scape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” He tweeted.
The takeover has prompted discussion among Twitter users over what the platform will look like under Mr Musk’s ownership.