Elon Musk reversed course and once again proposed buying Twitter at $54.20 a share, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sources added that a deal could happen as soon as Friday.
Twitter Stocks up 15% on Tuesday after first Bloomberg report above Tesla The CEO plans to make a deal to buy the company. Shares were halted following the report.
Weeks after Musk agreed to the deal earlier this year, valuing Twitter at $44 billion, he quickly sought to back out, formally notifying the company in July of his intention to terminate the deal. . Twitter sued Musk to force him to close the sale. The two sides are scheduled to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court on October 17.
Musk alleged that Twitter misrepresented the number of “bots” on its service as one of the reasons he rejected the deal. He and his attorneys claim that the social media company misled investors by providing false numbers in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, Twitter countered that Musk’s claims of fraud were incorrect and based on a misunderstanding of how the company checks for bots and fake accounts on its platform.
Musk also accused Twitter of failing to provide him with the necessary data regarding spam and bots, which Twitter has denied.
Twitter accused Musk of looking for a reason to back out of the deal as the company’s shares tumbled along with a widespread market-wide decline.
Although Musk sought to delay the trial date, Prime Minister Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware denied his wish, citing the potential for Twitter to suffer “irreparable harm.” The prime minister has allowed Musk and his lawyers to amend their counterclaim to include certain allegations by Twitter’s former chief of security in a separate lawsuit against the company.
CNBC learned that Musk could own Twitter within days and all litigation would be over.
In September, Twitter shareholders approved Musk’s initial bid to acquire the company.
Meanwhile, Tesla stock is down about $10 per share (about 4%) in the news so far on Tuesday and is up about 1% on the day.
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