A deal to end court battle between Musk, Twitter on the cards, likely to close buyout soon, report suggests
Musk court
The ongoing litigation between Elon Musk and Twitter Inc is likely to end in the coming days, clearing the way for the world's richest person to close his $44 billion deal for the social media firm, Reuters reported. On Monday, Musk proposed to Twitter that he would abide by his April agreement to buy the company for $54.20 per share, if Twitter dropped its litigation against him.
Twitter and Musk have agreed to postpone the billionaire's deposition in court scheduled for Thursday, the source told Reuters on Wednesday, but a full resolution is expected to take more time. Musk's Monday proposal said the deal closing was pending the receipt of debt financing. The potential agreement would likely remove that condition, said the source on condition of anonymity.
However, Twitter's legal team was yet to accept any agreement. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the judge on Delaware's Court of Chancery, earlier in the day said she was preparing for the looming trial.
"The parties have not filed a stipulation to stay this action, nor has any party moved for a stay. I, therefore, continue to press on toward our trial set to begin on Oct. 17, 2022," McCormick wrote in a Wednesday court filing.
Twitter's legal team and lawyers for Musk updated the judge on Tuesday with their attempts to overcome mutual distrust and find a process for closing the deal.
It is not clear what led the Musk legal team to offer to settle, but his scheduled deposition on Thursday in Austin, Texas, was expected to include some tough questioning, which could have given Twitter leverage in talks to close the deal.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported on Wednesdaythat representatives of Musk and Twitter held several unsuccessful talks in recent weeks about a possible price cut to his $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform. The report said that Musk initially sought a discount of as much as 30 per cent, which was later narrowed to about 10 per cent and ultimately rejected by Twitter.
(With inputs from agencies)
