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Elon Musk has offered to proceed with his $44 billion buyout of Twitter, reversing course yet again, according to a proposal first obtained by Bloomberg.
Why it matters: This could preempt a trial that had been scheduled for October, tied to Musk’s efforts to walk away from his original acquisition agreement.
What to know: Musk reportedly is maintaining his $54.20 per share offer price, although it’s not clear if he’s requesting any other term changes. It remains possible that Twitter would reject Musk’s proposal, were it to differ from the original merger agreement.
- The Washington Post reports that Twitter’s board is considering Musk’s offer, which arrived overnight, but is taking its time on a reply because of fears that it could be a legal ploy.
- Twitter stock has been suspended from trading, after jumping more than 11% on the Bloomberg report to $47.93 per share.
On the docket: Musk’s original argument for terminating the merger was that Twitter allegedly had undercounted the number of bots, or fake accounts, on the platform. He later amended his complaint to include claims from a Twitter whistleblower that the company misled regulators about its efforts to reduce spam and protect Twitter from security threats.
- One reading of Musk’s about face is that he’s lost confidence in his legal case, having already experienced a series of procedural losses in Delaware Chancery Court.
- Sources close to Musk recently told Axios that he knew there was a good chance he’d lose at trial, and that at some point he’d pivot to trying to prove wrong those who believe he overpaid.
A Twitter spokesperson didn’t yet return a request for comment, and neither the company nor Musk have addressed the report via tweet.
Go deeper: A timeline of the Musk-Twitter deal so far
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details.
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