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On Monday, Elon Musk sent a message to Twitter suggesting that he continue his work A deal to buy the company At the originally agreed price of $54.20 per share, according to A Securities Deposit Tuesday.
In the letter, Musk said he would proceed with the acquisition under the original terms, pending receipt of debt financing for the deal, and provided the Delaware District Court halts and delays litigation over Musk’s initial attempt to withdraw from the deal. The next trial on the dispute.
A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that the company received Musk’s letter and reiterated its previous statement that “the company’s intent is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.”
Musk on Tuesday night chirp: “Buying Twitter is an accelerator for creating X, applying everything.”
Bloomberg news agency first reported the letter earlier on Tuesday. Twitter
(TWTR) The shares were suspended twice, a second time due to pending news. After the stock resumed trading, it rose more than 20%, surpassing $51 a share and approaching the agreed deal price for the first time in months.
This news comes at a time when both sides are preparing Head to trial Within two weeks of Musk’s attempt to terminate the $44 billion takeover agreement, which Twitter sued him to complete. Musk’s lawyers were due to oust Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Monday, and Twitter’s lawyers were planning to fire Musk starting Thursday.
It also follows Friday release A set of personal text messages to Musk about the deal. The letters offered a look at the Silicon Valley staff and the billionaires — from Larry Ellison to members of the Murdoch family — who contacted him to influence the deal and, in some cases, provided financing for the deal.
Such an agreement could put an end to the months-long back-and-forth between Musk and Twitter, causing tremendous uncertainty for employees, investors and users of one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.
The ball will now be in Twitter’s court to decide how to respond to Musk’s proposal. Twitter’s board is likely to agree to go ahead with the deal, according to Josh White, associate professor of finance at Vanderbilt University.
“The public saga has definitely taken a toll on them and the Twitter staff,” White said. “It is best for all parties to finish the deal and make a quick and smooth transition. I suspect it will close quickly.”
However, Twitter may not want to pause its litigation, Musk suggested, until the deal is formally closed, according to Columbia Law School professor Eric Talley. The company may wish to proceed with litigation while it negotiates with Musk, should his offer to complete the deal fail again.
“Maybe Twitter will say, ‘Look, we definitely want to get you involved in this…but we still have a beta on October 17th and until it’s signed, sealed and delivered, we should prepare for the trial,'” Tully said.
The saga began in April when Musk revealed that he had become the largest contributor to Twitter. Over the next few months, Musk agreed and then retracted an offer to sit on Twitter’s board, threatened a hostile takeover of the company, signed an agreement to buy the company, began raising concerns about bots on the platform, and attempted to terminate the agreement. A lawsuit was filed by Twitter to pursue deal and adding claims from a Twitter whistleblower to his argument.
Musk initially moved to End the deal Citing allegations that the company miscalculated the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter alleged that Musk had breached the deal and was using bots as an excuse to exit a buyer’s remorse deal after a broader market downturn, which also hurt Tesla’s stock, and thus Musk’s personal fortune.
Throughout the back and forth, Twitter confirmed that it plans to follow through on the deal at the price and terms originally agreed upon.
Several legal experts said Twitter has a stronger case going to court, and that Musk will face a significant burden in trying to prove that the company made materially misleading statements in its securities filings or in the conclusion of the deal.
The lawsuit was the last remaining hurdle in the way of closing the deal, after Twitter shareholders last month Vote to approve the deal. The deal was originally scheduled to close this month.
With news that the deal could end in closing, attention may once again turn to what Musk’s takeover of the social media platform could mean.
Musk has previously proposed a series of potential changes to Twitter, the most important of which is the return of former President Donald Trump to the platform and the removal of permanent bans on the accounts. Musk also said he wants Twitter to be more open to “freedom of expression” and could change its content editing policies.
Twitter employees also raised questions about what Musk’s acquisition of benefits such as remote work and parental leave could mean.
Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett said in a letter to employees Tuesday that the company has received Musk’s letter and plans to close the deal at $54.20 per share. “I will continue to update you, but in the meantime, I thank you for your patience as we work through this legal aspect,” he said, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN.
Blind, an anonymous private forum popular among Twitter employees, went viral on Tuesday amid reports of Musk’s reversal. Reaction in the forum has been overwhelmingly negative, according to footage that a Twitter employee provided to CNN.
“Cue layoffs,” read one comment. Several other employees have expressed concerns that Musk may roll back Twitter’s benefits package, including termination for departing employees.
CNN’s Donnie O’Sullivan contributed to this report.
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