Elon Musk Agrees to Buy Twitter at $54.2 Per Share; Deal Could be Completed by Friday

By Jacob J
October 5, 2022 12:55 +08

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Elon Musk has dramatically changed the course of his Twitter deal saga, by announcing on Tuesday that he was willing to buy the social media giant at the previously agreed price of $44 billion.

Reports said Twitter acknowledged the move from Musk and that a deal can be announced as early as on Friday, putting the lid finally on the controversial takeover bid that was launched several months ago in April.

In a letter written by Musk's lawyers, the billionaire says he is willing to go ahead with the deal under which each share of Titter is valued at $54.20. He said the intention is to complete the transaction, pending receipt of the financing and a formal end of the legal fight.

Twitter shares jumped on the news, surging as much as 22 percent to close at $52. The Twitter management said it was in receipt of Musk's offer, and that the company plans to "close the transaction at $54.20 per share."

The shares in Tesla, Musk's flagship company also rose by 2.4 percent.

Musk's offer comes just days ahead of the lawsuit filed against him by the Twitter board goes into trial. The trial is scheduled to start on October 17 in the Court of Chancery in Georgetown, Delaware. The case was filed after Musk sought to abandon his deal to acquire Twitter over what he says is a misrepresentation of fake accounts on the site.

The San Francisco-based company has been trying to force Musk to follow through on the deal and accuses him of sabotaging it because it no longer served his interests. Musk withdrew from the Twitter deal, which he had signed in late April, citing discrepancies in data regarding fake accounts on the platform.

Here's the full text of the letter written by Trump's team to Twitter lawyers:

Gentlemen:

On behalf of X Holdings I, Inc., X Holdings II, Inc. and Elon R. Musk (the "Musk Parties"), we write to notify you that the Musk Parties intend to proceed to closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein and pending receipt of the proceeds of the debt financing contemplated thereby, provided that the Delaware Chancery Court enter an immediate stay of the action, Twitter vs. Musk, et al. (C.A. No. 202-0613-KSJM) (the "Action") and adjourn the trial and all other proceedings related thereto pending such closing or further order of the Court.

The Musk Parties provide this notice without admission of liability and without waiver of or prejudice to any of their rights, including their right to assert the defenses and counterclaims pending in the Action, including in the event the Action is not stayed, Twitter fails or refuses to comply with its obligations under the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement or if the transaction contemplated thereby otherwise fails to close

Even after the legal proceedings had begun, Musk had given ample hints that he might eventually go ahead with the deal. The tech tycoon sold millions more of Tesla shares yet again even as his Twitter buy' enigma continued to baffle analysts. The latest Tesla share sale was in August, when the tech billionaire netted a whopping $6.9 billion. He sold more than 7.9 million shares between August 5 and August 9.

Musk sold shares in his flagship company months after saying that he was not looking at any more share sale. Musk has now offloaded $32 billion worth of stock in Tesla in the last 10 months, according to Bloomberg news.