X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is worth less than half of what Elon Musk paid for it a year ago.
Restricted stock units awarded to employees value the company at $19 billion, or $45 a share, according to a person familiar with the matter. A year ago, Musk bought Twitter Inc. for $44 billion.
Since the takeover, most of Twitter's staff was laid off or resigned. Musk renamed the company X, changed some of its content rules and lost more than half of its advertising revenue.
Fortune earlier reported on the valuation, citing an internal memo.
The company has struggled financially under Musk's ownership. At the time of the takeover, Twitter was valued at $44 billion, based on a mix of debt and equity. Musk's purchase saddled the company with $13 billion in debt and over time his erratic decision making and looser content-safety rules have driven away advertisers, contributing to a 60% drop in sales. X also owes about $1.2 billion in interest payments per year on its debt, Bloomberg earlier estimated.
Musk's plan for X is to shift away from advertising toward paid subscriptions. But so far the company has persuaded less than 1% of users to sign up for its monthly premium service, translating to less than $120 million annually, Bloomberg has estimated.
Musk has also been vocal about turning X into an "everything app" that could generate revenue from features like shopping and payments. The company rolled out audio and video calling earlier this month, has a beta version of a hiring service and announced plans to launch a news wire. Musk told employees that X plans to compete with Google's YouTube, Microsoft Corp.'s LinkedIn and Cision's PR Newswire.
When Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino met with bankers this month to lay out the company's financial plan, she shared ideas for X's new products and services, including the launch of advertising tiers. In the past, Musk has hinted that he'd like to take X public, but the company's steep drop in value could make that difficult.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Cauvery Water Dispute: Is There A Solution In Sight?
Elon Musk Moves SpaceX And X Headquarters To Texas. Here's Why Trump Shooting Conspiracy Theories Viewed Over 215 Million Times On X: Report Elon Musk To Move Companies Out Of California Over Transgender Law 25,000 Aspirants For Airport Jobs Paying Rs 22,000: A Mumbai Stampede Scare 4 Top Leaders Quit Ajit Pawar's Party In Major Setback After Poll Drubbing Trump's Running Mate Calls UK "Truly Islamist State With Nuclear Weapons" 2016 Mercedes Hit-And-Run Victim's Parents Awarded Rs 1.98 Crore Relief "By Hook Or Crook, He's Behind Bars": Arvind Kejriwal Lawyer In High Court Richa Chadha Showcased Her Baby Bump In A Shirt For Her Maternity Shoot Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.