Elon Musk, Twitter To Reach Deal Soon To End Litigation Early: Report
Both sides agreed to postpone the billionaire's deposition in court scheduled for Thursday. The negotiations are on the track with a full resolution expected to take more time.
New Delhi: Tesla chief Elon Musk, who proposed to Twitter to change course and uphold his April agreement earlier this week, may reach an agreement to end their litigation in the coming days, reported news agency Reuters citing its sources. The deal once reached will pave the way for the world's richest person to close his $44 billion acquisition of the microblogging site for $54.20 per share.
The two sides were expected to reach an agreement with the social media platform to end their litigation as soon as Wednesday, the news agency had reported earlier, citing sources.
Both sides agreed to postpone the billionaire's deposition in court scheduled for Thursday, the source told the news agency. The negotiations are on the track with a full resolution expected to take more time.
On the other hand, Twitter's legal team was yet to accept any agreement and Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the judge on Delaware's Court of Chancery indicated her preparedness for the looming trial.
"The parties have not filed a stipulation to stay this action, nor has any party moved for a stay. I, therefore, continue to press on toward our trial set to begin on Oct. 17, 2022," McCormick wrote in a Wednesday court filing.
An attorney on behalf of Twitter shareholders wrote to McCormick that Musk should be made to pay a "substantial deposit" in case he renews his commitment to close the deal. He should also be liable for interest delaying the closing of the deal, said the letter from attorney Michael Hanrahan.
Musk agreed to consider the deal if Twitter dropped its litigation against him. However, the proposal from Musk cited a condition that the deal closing was pending the receipt of the necessary debt financing. According to the source, the potential agreement might do away with that condition.
Both parties informed the judge on Tuesday about their efforts to overcome mutual distrust and find a process for closing the deal.
Two firms looking aiming to partly finance the deal, Apollo Global Management Inc and Sixth Street Partners, had ended talks to provide up to a combined $1 billion, according to Reuters.
In September, Musk canceled a deposition citing the possibility of a Twitter attorney's exposure to someone who later tested positive for Covid-19, according to a court filing.
In July, Musk decided to walk away from the takeover agreement on discovering that Twitter had allegedly misled him about fake accounts, among other concerns. Musk allegations were also partly pointed out by Twitter whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko that became public in August.
Twitter's legal team has wanted to investigate if Quinn Emanuel lawyer Alex Spiro, who has led the case for Musk, communicated with the whistleblower as early as May. The law firm has said in court filings its attorneys did not communicate with Zatko or his representatives.
Twitter uncovered an anonymous May 6 email to Spiro from "a former Exec at Twitter leading teams directly involving Trust & Safety/Content Moderation," according to court documents. The sender offered to communicate "via alternate means."
Zatko, who was head of Twitter security until he was fired in January, has said under oath he did not communicate with Musk or Musk's attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.
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