Elon Musk might buy Twitter after all. A deal between the wealthiest person in the world and one of the most famous social media platforms is back on track. Twitter reported that it intended to close the deal at $54.20 per share after receiving Musk’s letter. But the company has refrained from indicating that it is abandoning its lawsuit against Tesla’s billionaire CEO. Experts commented that this was meaningful given the lack of trust and the contentious relationship between the two parties.
In a statement, Twitter said, “We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.” Andrew Jennings, a Brooklyn Law School professor, doesn’t think that Twitter will “give up its trial date on just Musk’s word — it’s going to need more certainty about closing.” Jennings added that Musk could also be attempting to use his proposal as a delay tactic. He has previously unsuccessfully sought to postpone the trial twice.
According to a copy of the letter from Musk’s lawyers, the deal would proceed if the Delaware Chancery Court agreed to “enter an immediate stay.” Twitter included it in a regulatory filing. It is likely that Twitter will seek protection from the Delaware court to ensure that Musk completes the purchase, according to the AP report.
Trading in Twitter shares resumed Tuesday night after being halted during the day pending the announcement, and the stock closed 22 percent higher at $52.
The proposal from Musk is the most recent development in a much-publicized saga between the wealthiest man in the world and one of the most powerful social media platforms. Musk – who has more than 100 million followers – has criticized Twitter for being unable to live up to its potential as a free speech platform and for being overrun by bots.
A Columbia University law professor, Eric Talley claimed, “On the legal merits, his case didn’t look that strong. It kind of seemed like a pretty simple buyer’s remorse case.”
According to analysts, the offer was an admission that Musk was facing a lengthy legal challenge in court. In court, he had lost several legal challenges relating to Twitter’s disclosure requirements. However, this didn’t prevent analysts from ruling out more twists and turns from Musk.
Scott Kessler, a global sector lead for technology media and telecommunications at Third Bridge, stated, “One thing that seems certain in this saga, where we’ve witnessed many twists and turns, is that nothing appears predictable.”
Twitter sued Musk when he announced that the deal had fallen through because Twitter underestimated the number of fake accounts. Moreover, Musk’s main argument for ending the agreement – that Twitter misrepresented its “spam bot” problem – did not seem to work well since Twitter had been working to differentiate his attempts to get third-party data scientists to reinforce his complaints.
Musk didn’t say much about the news until late Tuesday afternoon, when he said in a tweet that “buying Twitter is a gas pedal to create X, the app everything” without further explanation.
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