CNN
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Twitter stock was halted twice for a second pending news and rose nearly 13% in mid-day trading on Tuesday after reports that Elon Musk had offered to move forward with the deal to buy the company at the originally agreed price of $54.20 per share.
Bloomberg and The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Musk sent a letter to Twitter suggesting to complete the deal as it was first signed, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
Musk and Twitter representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news comes as the two sides prepare to stand trial in two weeks over Musk’s attempt to withdraw from the $44 billion buyout deal that Twitter has sued him to complete. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was set to be fired by Musk’s lawyers on Monday, and Twitter’s lawyers had planned to fire Musk starting Thursday.
Such a deal could end a months-long contentious debate between Musk and Twitter that has caused great uncertainty for employees, investors and users of one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.
According to Josh White, an assistant professor of finance at Vanderbilt University, the Twitter board will agree to suspend the case to finalize the settlement.
“The public saga definitely hurt them and their Twitter staff,” White said. Said. “It is best for all parties to complete the deal and have a quick and smooth transition. I predict it will close quickly.”
The legend began in April when Musk announced that he was Twitter’s largest shareholder. Over the next few months, Musk accepted Twitter’s offer to sit on the board and then withdrew, threatened a hostile takeover of the company, signed a deal to buy the company, began voicing concerns about bots on the platform, offered to join Twitter’s board. refused. The settlement was sued by Twitter to follow up on the settlement, adding its claim to the claims of a Twitter whistleblower.
Musk initially took action to terminate the deal, citing allegations that the company misreported the number of spam and fake bot accounts on the platform. Twitter claimed that Musk violated the deal and used bots as an excuse to exit a deal, which he received buyer’s regret after the broader market plunge that also damaged Tesla shares and, by extension, Musk’s personal wealth.
Still, many legal experts said Twitter had a stronger argument going to court and would face a significant burden when trying to prove that Musk made materially misleading statements in the company’s securities filings or settlement agreement.
The lawsuit was the final hurdle to closing the deal after Twitter shareholders voted to approve the deal last month. The deal was originally set to close this month.
With news that the deal may end, attention may once again turn to what Musk’s control could mean for the social media platform.
Musk previously suggested a number of potential changes on Twitter; the most important of these may be to return former President Donald Trump to the platform and to eliminate permanent account bans. Musk also said he wants to make Twitter more open to “freedom of expression” and may change its content moderation policies.
