Elon Musk deposition delayed as Twitter buyout talks move forward

#Austin #ElonMusk #MorganStanley

Elon Musk has agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion
He will be paying $54.20 per share, the originally agreed upon price back when the deal was made in April
Musk reportedly tried to lower the price by 30% and when that did not work, asked for a 10% discount

Written By:Rwit

Updated: October 06 2022 12:00:24 AM ET

Elon Musk and Twitter have mutually agreed to delay the billionaire’s deposition, which was scheduled for October 7, according to a Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter.

The world’s richest man was expected to testify in front of Twitter’s lawyers in the company’s lawsuit which aimed at forcing the co-founder of Tesla to go through with a $44 billion buyout. However, Musk inexplicably announced his intention to go through with the deal and committed to buying the platform at the asking price of $54.20 per share, the price negotiated back in April.

Also Read | Elon Musk announces X the everything app: What is it

The plan was for the deposition to happen on Thursday morning local time in Austin, Texas. Currently, the lawyers of the two parties are trying to finalise a way to dispose of the suit, according to the Bloomberg report.

Prior to accepting the $44 billion deal, Musk allegedly tried to cut the price of the acquisition by 30%, and more recently, sought a 10% discount, according to a New York Times article, which cited unidentified sources.

Also Read | Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app: Elon Musk

Meanwhile, banks and investors alike are going over the debt-financing that Musk had secured for the deal. The billionaire had managed to rally $12.5 billion in funds from banks like Morgan Stanley and investors, which include the likes of Oracle’s Larry Ellison.

Delaware Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick has stated that since she hasn’t been asked for a pause in the case, the trial will be expected to start on October 17. Musk said that if Twitter put the trial on hold, he would be willing to move ahead with the acquisition, security filings showed.

It seems likely that the the Musk-Twitter saga is on its last legs, following the billionaire’s surprise change of heart. Back when he had terminated the deal in July, his rationale was that the company had refused to elaborate on the number of spam and bot accounts. Twitter, on the other hand, accused the billionaire of buyer’s remorse.