The Twitter profile page belonging to Elon Musk is seen on an Apple iPhone mobile phone.
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Elon Musk has reversed course and is again proposing to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Twitter shares surged 15% on Tuesday after Bloomberg first reported the Tesla CEO’s plans to go forth with his deal to acquire the company. The stock was halted after the report.
A few weeks after Musk agreed to the deal earlier this year, valuing Twitter at $44 billion, he quickly changed course and tried to back out of the agreement. Twitter sued Musk to force him to go through with the purchase. The two sides were scheduled to go to court on Oct. 17.
Musk alleged that Twitter was misstating the number of “bots” on its service as one of the reasons he was reneging on the deal. He and his lawyers alleged that the social media company was misleading investors by providing false numbers in corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Twitter countered, however, that Musk’s assertions of fraud were incorrect and were based on a misunderstanding of the way the company tallies bots and fake accounts on its platform.
Twitter alleged that Musk was looking for a reason to back out of the deal when the company’s shares dropped along a broader decline in the overall market.
If the the deal closes and Musk ends up owning Twitter, it’s possible that all litigation would end.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares dropped about $9 per share as the news of Musk’s proposal crossed, but are still up more than 2% on the day.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
