Twitter is closing in on a deal to sell itself to billionaire Elon Musk that could be announced as soon as today.
Twitter is reportedly set to accept Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company for $54.20 per share.
The deal could be reached today if negotiations go smoothly, Reuters and Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Twitter shares jumped 4.7% to $51.25 in pre-market trading, continuing the stock’s gains since Musk’s bid for the company became public earlier this month.
There is still a possibility the deal collapses during the final stages of negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reports, though Twitter may make the deal official as soon as Monday after its board meets with investors, according to Reuters.
Twitter did not immediately respond to the request for comment on the development.
Recall, it was reported last week that Mr Musk had secured the funding for the deal, after he bought more than 9 per cent of Twitter, making him the company’s biggest shareholder on 9 April.
On 14 April, Musk announced an offer to buy the social media platform for about $43 billion. The billionaire has commitments from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, he said in documents published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, pushing back against rumours that he did not have enough liquid cash to make the deal.
Twitter had originally enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could scuppor a takeover attempt by making it too expensive, but apparently decided to negotiate following an updated proposal from Mr Musk.
The board apparently wants to know if there are any more active investigations into Mr Musk from regulators like the SEC that could stop the deal falling through, and if Mr Musk buying the company would be too great a risk, there could be a break-up fee for Twitter
