Billionaire Elon Musk has apparently changed his mind about buying Twitter, again, and is now willing to proceed with his takeover of the social media platform.
In a letter to the firm, Mr. Musk agreed to pay the price he offered months ago, before trying to quit the deal.
The surprise reversal comes just weeks before the two sides were due in court.
Twitter, which had sued Mr. Musk to force the takeover to move forward, was seen as having the stronger case.
In the letter, attorneys for Mr. Musk said he intended to move ahead to complete the transaction, pending receipt of the financing and an end of the legal fight.
A spokesperson for Twitter acknowledged the firm had received the proposal, adding “the intention of the company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share” – the price that Mr. Musk promised in April.
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- The apparent win for Twitter sent its shares soaring more than 20% to more than $52 apiece. But the value remained lower than the takeover price, a sign of lingering investor doubts the deal will go through.
Later on Tuesday, Mr. Musk wrote in a tweet: “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app”.
A dramatic turnaround
It’s hard to keep track of this deal. On, off, now – it appears – on again.
However, there’s a lot to read into Twitter’s brief statement.
The “intention” to go through with the deal suggests a nervousness that this is a delaying tactic from Musk’s team.
The statement effectively can be read as – ‘We are going to pursue this sale, whatever Elon Musk says or does.
The way Twitter also, so pointedly, says it will sell the company at $54.20 suggests they are still worried about Musk lowballing.
So far Musk has been a highly erratic negotiating partner – hot and cold. Keen one minute, looking for the exit the other.
You can see why Twitter is playing it cautiously.
