Elon Musk will proceed with his proposed takeover of Twitter.
The deal will move forward with Musk’s original offer of $54.20 per share, Bloomberg reports.
Musk reportedly made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, according to “people familiar with the matter” who spoke to the outlet.
Twitter shares spiked more than 13% to $48.13 following an earlier report of the agreement. They were halted for pending news.
Prior to the report, Musk was embroiled in a legal dispute with Twitter over the sale of the platform. He alleged the social media platform was not forthcoming with its bot and spam account numbers and wanted to back out of the deal.
Twitter sued Musk over his refusal to proceed with the deal. Musk would have been deposed by Twitter’s lawyer’s on Thursday and Friday. It’s possible the last-minute deal was made in part to avoid the deposition, the New York Post reports.
If Twitter accepts Musk’s offer, it would then withdraw its lawsuit against Musk. Likewise, Musk would withdraw a countersuit he filed against the company.
Musk first agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion — $54.20 per share — in April.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” wrote Musk in a letter to Twitter at the time.
The offer came after Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted Musk’s refusal to join the company’s board of directors. At the time, many believed Musk’s refusal signalled that he didn’t want his shareholder status limited to 15% and that he may have wanted more control of the company.
After the announcement, Conservative accounts saw massive upticks in followers overnight, leading to speculation that Twitter ended its shadow ban of accounts whose political views the company didn’t agree with.
It’s also possible previously deactivated accounts may have come back to Twitter following the news of Musk’s takeover. As well, some suspended accounts were reinstated.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
