The tumultuous saga of Elon Musk’s on-again off-again buy of Twitter took a flip towards a conclusion Tuesday after the mercurial Tesla CEO proposed to purchase the corporate on the initially agreed-on value of $44 billion.
Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter that the corporate disclosed in a submitting Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It got here lower than two weeks earlier than a trial between the 2 events is scheduled to begin in Delaware.
In a press release, Twitter stated it intends to shut the transaction at $54.20 per share after receiving the letter from Musk.
Trading in Twitter’s inventory, which had been halted for a lot of the day pending launch of the information, resumed late Tuesday and soared 22% to shut at $52.
Musk’s proposal is the most recent twist in a high-profile saga involving the world’s richest man and some of the influential social media platforms. Much of the drama has performed out on Twitter itself, with Musk — who has greater than 100 million followers — lamenting that the corporate was failing to stay as much as its potential as a platform at no cost speech.
A letter from Musk’s lawyer dated Monday and disclosed by Twitter in a securities submitting stated Musk would shut the merger signed in April, offered that the Delaware Chancery Court “enter an immediate stay” of Twitter’s lawsuit towards him and adjourn the trial scheduled to begin Oct. 17.
By finishing the deal, Musk primarily gave Twitter what it was in search of from the court docket — “specific performance” of the contract with Musk, which means he must undergo with the acquisition on the unique value. The contract Musk signed additionally has a $1 billion breakup payment.
Eric Talley, a legislation professor at Columbia University, stated he’s not stunned by Musk’s turnaround, particularly forward of a scheduled deposition of Musk by Twitter attorneys beginning Thursday that was “not going to be pleasant.”
“On the legal merits, his case didn’t look that strong,” Talley stated. “It kind of seemed like a pretty simple buyer’s remorse case.”
Surprisingly, Musk doesn’t seem like attempting to renegotiate the deal. Even a modest value discount may need given Musk a “moral victory” and the power to say he acquired one thing out of the protracted dispute, Talley stated.
Neither Twitter nor attorneys for Musk responded to requests for remark Tuesday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”