San Francisco:
Elon Musk asked a US judge Thursday to stop an upcoming lawsuit over his troubling attempt to take over Twitter after the controversial social media company rejected the Tesla chief’s demand to freeze the process.
Musk’s request comes two days after he revived his $44 billion acquisition plan — the latest in a whiplash-inducing series of reversals in the high-stakes saga.
The unpredictable billionaire, who backed out of the transaction in July and prompted Twitter to sue him for breach of contract, offered Tuesday to reinstate the $54.20 per share offer, provided the Delaware court dismisses the lawsuit against him. stop.
A trial will start on October 17.
“There is no need for an expedited process to order defendants to do what they are already doing and this action is now moot,” said a filing prepared by Musk’s attorneys that hinted at his latest offer.
“Still, Twitter won’t accept a yes as an answer. Amazingly, they’ve insisted on going ahead with this lawsuit, recklessly risking the deal and gambling with the interests of their shareholders.”
The filing said Twitter opposed a suspension of the “theoretical possibility” of lack of funding for the transaction, adding that Musk has access to funding to close the deal “on or about October 28.”
In a statement, Twitter said its stance was based on Musk’s repeated efforts to derail the legislation, saying his latest appeal to the court is “an invitation to further doom and delay.”
The company said Tuesday it expects to close the buyout deal at the price of $54.20 agreed in April.
Analysts say the lawsuit offers Twitter leverage against the risk of another move by Musk.
Twitter “thought they had a deal before,” said Adam Badawi, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “So to actually accept anything from Musk, it has to be as rock solid as possible.
“But if the details (can) be worked out, the lawsuit will not go ahead.”
“I can imagine Twitter wanting to put the $44 billion in escrow, or a very large amount, to show its good faith and commitment to actually make this happen,” Badawi said.
On Wednesday, Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick said she still intended to move forward with the trial, which gained momentum in July.
As of now, Musk is slated to be impeached in the case on Monday, CNBC reported.
A serial entrepreneur made rich from his success with Tesla’s electric cars, Musk began to step back from the Twitter deal shortly after it was agreed.
Musk said in July that he was canceling the purchase because he was misled by Twitter about the number of fake “bot” accounts, allegations the company dismissed.
Twitter, meanwhile, has tried to prove that Musk was making excuses to walk away — simply because he changed his mind.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)