Elon Musk proposes to acquire Twitter at original price

Musk made the offer in a letter to Twitter, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as discussing confidential information. Twitter shares climbed up to 18% on the news. Representatives for Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Musk’s offer to match the terms of the original deal means Twitter faces a future led by a business billionaire who has publicly criticized its management for months and questioned its value. It also means that their claims – how many Twitter users are bots, for example – are unlikely to be investigated in court.

Musk had been trying for months to back out of his contract to acquire Twitter. Musk began showing signs of buyer remorse soon after the deal was announced, alleging that Twitter had misled him about the size of his user base and the proliferation of automated accounts known as bots.

Musk formally abandoned the agreement in July, and Twitter sued him in Delaware Chancery Court to force him to go ahead with the purchase. Trial will start from October 17. For weeks after that showdown, lawyers on both sides summoned each other for the purpose of tampering with testimony and evidence.

Musk’s side was required to demonstrate that Twitter violated the terms of the deal. Twitter alleged that Musk used the bots issue as an excuse to back out of a deal he no longer felt financially sound about.

An acquaintance said Musk’s legal team seemed to understand that the case was not going well, as Judge Kathleen St. J. McCormick repeatedly sided with Twitter in pre-trial decisions. Even with the late emergence of a Twitter whistleblower who reportedly wasn’t coming forward on official security and bot issues, there were concerns that Musk’s side would not be able to prove a material adverse effect. .