Trading in Twitter shares was halted after the stock surged on reports that Elon Musk was moving forward with his $44 billion deal to buy the company after months of legal battles.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg News, based on unnamed sources. Musk offered to buy the San Francisco company for $54.20. Shares jumped nearly 13% to $47.95 before the close of trading.
As reported Tuesday, Musk sent a letter to Twitter offering to complete the deal, which already has shareholder approval at the original price. Twitter did not immediately respond to messages for comment on Tuesday.
The trial to force Musk to buy Twitter is set to begin in Delaware Chancery Court on October 17.
Musk’s argument for winning the case – and thus walking away from the deal – rests largely on his allegation that Twitter misrepresented how it measures the volume of “spam bot” accounts that advertisers have. useless for But most legal experts agreed that they faced an uphill battle convincing the court’s chief justice, Chancellor Kathleen St. Jude McCormick, that little had changed since the April merger agreement that ended the deal. justifies.