Elon Musk confirmed in a video call with his advisers that he plans to close the $44 billion Twitter acquisition on Friday, potentially ending a turbulent acquisition process, according to reports. who reported the matter.
In another sign that the deal will close by the end of the week, Musk’s Attorneys at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom sent the papers to investors to take a stake in the deal, according to two investors and a person close to the Tesla boss.
A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, including Bank of America and Barclays, pledged $13 billion in funding for the deal in April. Meanwhile, Musk has raised at least $7 billion for his bid from a list of stock investors that includes Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Prince of Saudi Arabia Alwaleed bin Talal and other investors. asset management group Fidelity, Brookfield and Sequoia Capital.
Confirmation from Musk that he intends to close the deal helps Twitter Shareholders are concerned that the billionaire, who has repeatedly tried to find a way out of the deal, will find a last-minute excuse to drop the deal.
Twitter shares rose 2.7% to $52.92 on the news, the highest they’ve traded since Musk agreed to pay $54.20 a share to buy the company in April.
Major hedge funds, including DE Shaw, bets on closing the deal added to their positions before a scheduled close on Friday.
One person told the Financial Times they added to their position after a report from Bloomberg that US officials were discussing whether they might review the deal on a national security basis. did not – which the White House later denied – sent the stock. The fund bought more than 200,000 shares at an average price of less than $50 per share during last Friday’s sell-off. “Once it closes, I will be happy,” the hedge fund manager said.
A few months after agreeing to buy Twitter, Musk, who waived accountability to buy the platform, said he would terminate the contract, citing concerns about fake accounts and cybersecurity. Twitter sued Musk to force him to shut down.
This month, Musk and Twitter’s legal battle will go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court. However, in the face of increasing legal pressure, Musk speculativesaid he was willing to buy back the company at the originally agreed-upon price if the legal action was dropped.
Twitter resisted an immediate resolution, pointing to deep suspicions against Musk, but the court later ordered the parties to seek to end the agreement by October 28 or face trial. trial in November.
A person familiar with Twitter’s thinking said the company also expects the deal to close on Friday. Bloomberg first reported on Musk’s call with advisers on Tuesday. A CNBC journalist first reported that equity investors had received paperwork from Musk’s lawyers.
Twitter declined to comment. Musk’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Richard Waters in San Francisco and Arash Massoudi in London
