It looks like Elon Musk and Twitter Inc may have come to an agreement on their litigation in the coming days by giving way to Musk, the world’s richest person, by closing his $44 billion deal for the social media firm.
The representatives of the famous billionaire notified Twitter through a letter on Tuesday that he proposes to move forward with the deal, confirming earlier reports that the deal is going in the right direction again.
“We write to notify you that the Musk Parties intend to proceed to the closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein,” reads the notice filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk and Twitter headed to court over the deal with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive, claiming that Twitter had caused a misunderstanding by misleading him over the number of bots that existed on the social network. Despite the lack of evidence for his claims, Musk has alleged that 20% of Twitter’s user base consisted of “fake/spam accounts”.
Twitter has maintained that less than 5% of its “monetizable daily active users” are bots. The data is a subset of its user base provided as a metric for advertisers. With that, it seems Musk can no longer intend to press on the matter.
“We received the letter from the Musk parties, which they have filed with the SEC,” Twitter shared to TechCrunch in a statement, which is also shared on its official investor relations account. The company added, “The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.”. Musk’s notice also positively impacted Twitter’s stock price as it rocketed more than 12%, above $47 per share.
As per the letter, Musk is down to move forward with the deal “provided that the Delaware Chancery Court enter an immediate stay of the action, Twitter vs. Musk, et al. and adjourn the trial and all other proceedings.” This indicates the deal can be continued under the condition that the lawsuit does not proceed.
Though it is not clear why and what inspired Musk to have a change of heart, there are recent twists and turns in the days leading up to the trial on the 17th of October. The court released Musk’s texts about the deal uncovered through the discovery process. The messages show him getting cold feet in the light of Ukraine and a looming worsening global economic picture.
Another twist appeared when Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick approved Twitter’s request to review texts from the billionaire’s inner circle associated with a mysterious anonymous email that Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro received on the 6th of May. The email was sent via ProtonMail, and the sender identified themselves as a former Twitter executive. They also urged Musk’s team to follow up on a different platform.
While the tipster’s identity is still unknown, it is almost certain that the email was sent by a former Twitter head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who denied reaching out to Musk before being public with his complaint in August. Musk’s team subpoenaed Zatko at the end of August to seek testimony and documents to make the case that there was evidence of the lack of security at the company, which caused concerns and led to them rejecting the deal.
On the 5th of October, Musk tweeted that buying Twitter would give him an “accelerant” in creating X, the everything app. The mysteriousness of the grand plan is probably news to people on either side of the deal, as he did mention that he would launch a social media site called X if the Twitter deal did not go as planned.
The tweet has been receiving multiple feedback from people across the globe, and here are some of the replies Musk got under his recent tweet:
One user said that it would be easier for Musk to start X from scratch, and surprisingly, the billionaire replied by saying that Twitter probably will accelerate X by 3 to 5 years. “I could be wrong”, he added sarcastically.
A Twitter user commented that the Twitter buying ordeal is a misplaced priority as the world has far more pressing issues like world hunger, climate change and unemployment. “He is misusing our wealth”, the user added. Below the tweet, you can see another user claiming that it is not our wealth but Musk’s wealth.
So, what do you think? Is Elon Musk really going to buy Twitter this time around? Share your thoughts and opinions about the deal by leaving a comment below!
Source: TechCrunch
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