‘Plot twist’: Will Elon Musk close Twitter deal before Oct 28 deadline?

The world’s richest person Elon Musk who recently revived his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, may close the deal before the October 28 deadline issued by a court.

According to a Bloomberg report, Tesla CEO Musk is “running out of ways to evade his original $44 billion contract to buy Twitter Inc”.

In recent weeks, both Musk and Twitter discussed a price that was about $4 below the $54.20 per-share accord, but couldn’t agree on additional terms, according to people familiar with the matter, the report said.

Also read: Twitter refuses to accept Musk’s renewed ₹44 billion bid to acquire company

On October 3, Musk formally re-offered his bid to buy the company t at the original price to avoid a fight in Delaware Chancery court on October 17. But the company’s lawyers, suspicious of conditions in Musk’s letter, including the stipulation that Twitter drop its lawsuit, called it “an invitation to further mischief”, the report said.

Musk, on October 7, in response to a story that claimed “Twitter is refusing to accept Musk’s renewed bid”, tweeted “Plot twist!”

Behind the scenes, Twitter’s lawyers raced to verify Musk’s renewed affinity for the deal, checking whether he had indeed asked lenders for the money they had earlier committed (one bank said he hadn’t, Twitter says), the report said.

Also read: Musk, Twitter CEO delay questioning ahead of October trial

On October 6, Musk was given a new, court-issued deadline of October 28 to close the deal. If he and Twitter don’t complete the transaction by then, he’ll likely be on the witness stand in November.

The shift buys Musk time. And if he really doesn’t want to go to court, it also edges Twitter shareholders closer to a payday. “At $54.20 cash deal price closing this year, it is good to be long TWTR!,” Kevin Stadtler, chief executive officer of Twitter investor Stadtler Capital, celebrated in an email.

There’s still “a 10 per cent chance that Musk is trying a clever end-around to exit the deal,” according to Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures. A person familiar with his strategy says one possible scenario still involves Musk getting the deal at a lower price. But Musk shows signs he’s resigned himself to owning the product, according to the report.