A report that Elon Musk has proposed to buy Twitter at the cost of $54.20 per share sent its stock surging and prompted a temporary halt in trading Tuesday. The proposal, reported by Bloomberg News, would pave the way for the completion of his $44 billion takeover of the company and avoid a costly legal battle.
Musk had agreed to buy Twitter at that price in April before attempting to back out of the deal, claiming the social media company had misled him about the number of fake accounts, or “bots,” on the platform. Twitter then sued Musk in an attempt to force him to complete the acquisition, in a court case that was due to go to trial in Delaware on Oct. 17.
Twitter shares spiked by around 15% upon the news before trading was halted shortly after midday on Tuesday as rumors trickled out that Musk had offered to purchase the company.
Under the proposed deal, Twitter will become a private company under the sole control of Musk, who is also the owner of electric car company Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX.
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Billy Perrigo
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