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Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Elon Musk U-turns, agrees to buy Twitter at initial $44 billion

Mr Musk unexpectedly proposed a deal with Twitter that could end a contentious legal battle between the billionaire and the social media company.

• October 5, 2022
Elon Musk and Twitter
Elon Musk and Twitter

After a lengthy legal battle over the terms of the acquisition of the microblogging site Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has agreed to pay $54.20 per share, the price he agreed to pay for the acquisition of the company in April.

According to the New York Times, Mr Musk unexpectedly proposed a deal with Twitter that could end a contentious legal battle between the billionaire and the social media company.

 SEC filing detailed that Mr Musk informed Twitter of his intention to complete the deal in a letter sent on Monday, promising to pay the initial sum he negotiated the day the deal went public in April.

Few weeks after Mr Musk signed the agreement, which valued Twitter at $44 billion, he attempted to back out of the deal by officially notifying attempting to terminate the agreement in July.

However, Twitter approached the court in July asking it to compel Mr Musk to complete the deal after the Tesla CEO stated his intention to halt his planned acquisition of the microblogging platform.

Mr Musk had claimed he was breaking the agreement because Twitter was overstating the number of “bots” using its service. He and his attorneys asserted that the social media company misled investors by including fictitious figures in its Securities and Exchange Commission corporate filings.

Twitter argued back, saying Musk’s fraud claims were false and based on an incorrect understanding of how the company counts bots and fake accounts on its platform.

Legal experts predicted that Twitter would demand more extensive safeguards from the Delaware court where its lawsuit was filed to ensure Mr Musk follows through with his plan.

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