Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter could happen two weeks from today, so let’s look at where the deal stands.
Key Details
- Last week, Elon Musk decided he would no longer try to back out of his agreement to purchase Twitter and asked that the trial date set for next week be canceled.
- The Delaware judge overseeing the case ordered a temporary postponement but said the case would proceed if Musk does not close the deal by October 28.
- The banks supporting the deal now face a bleeker financial path—since the original agreement was signed interest rates have gone way up and the economy has slowed way down.
Why it’s news
The battle between the two parties has been ongoing for months and an end could be in sight—possibly.
The latest big twist in the case was earlier this month when Musk decided to revert back to his original offer to buy the social media company for $54.20 a share—for a total of $44 billion.
The decision to go back to his original offer shocked most people, but some onlookers thin that Musk has been trying to escape the deal for a while and he finally realized that Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick is not playing games and would not let him escape the law so he decided to go back to the first offer.
Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick is at the head of the court case between Musk and Twitter and she has taken a no-nonsense approach to it. The case has been interesting considering the many twists Musk has brought to the table, but McCormick has stood firm and not let Musk break laws and get out of the big deal.
She recently ordered a temporary pause in the case after Musk stated that he would go ahead with the transaction, but she also warned that she will schedule a November trial if Musk doesn’t close the deal by October 28, according to AP News writer Randall Chase.
McCormick has been tough on both parties and has shown many times that she will not let Musk take the easy way out and that’s why many people think he decided to revert back to his first offer.
Backing up a Bit
The full timeline between Elon Musk and Twitter is long.
It all started in April, Elon Musk announced that he held a 9.2% stake in Twitter, which made him the social-media company’s largest shareholder. Twitter’s stock price soared 25% after the announcement.
Later that month, the billionaire entrepreneur offered to buy all of Twitter at $54.20 per share—equaling about $44 billion. He said he originally invested in the platform because he believes it is failing in its potential to be the leading platform for free speech around the globe. In fact, he asked his 2 million followers if Twitter adhered to principles of free speech, and 70% said “no.”
In July, Musk decided to back out of the deal, claiming there were too many fake accounts on the platform. Twitter has since sued Musk in Delaware Court of Chancery to complete the deal and requested the trial to take place in September. Musk, on the other hand, wanted to delay the trial until February 2023, stating that a case of this size takes time to prepare. Twitter was granted its wish of an expedited trial, with Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the presiding judge, setting a five-day trial for October. Musk then countersued Twitter, stating his reason for the termination was due to Twitter not being upfront about the number of fake accounts on the platform.Then, Elon Musk and his legal team subpoenaed Twitter’s founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, to get him to release documents that provide accurate information on bots and spam accounts on the social-media platform and now these documents have come out from Zatko and Musk and his lawyers have subpoenaed him as well.
Then, Musk’s text messages were revealed in court filings and it showed that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tried to facilitate Musk’s Twitter takeover, which led to Musk officially reverting back to his original deal to buy the social-media company.
