On Thursday, a Delaware judge ordered a halt to Twitter Inc''s lawsuit against Elon Musk on the eve of trial, giving Musk the opportunity to finance his $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,60,300crore) purchase of the social media platform.The judge said the decision reacted to days of uncertainty about Musk''s intentions and erased the threat that the erratic entrepreneur might have to testify under the oath this week about his claims that Twitter erroneously misled
According to the judge''s order, Musk, the world''s richest person, failed to close by her October28 5pmEDT deadline, she would schedule a trial for November.
Twitter said it expects the transaction to close at $54.20 (approx. Rs.4,500) by October28th. In a previously court filing, Musk called the plan "an invitation to further mischief and delay."
Tesla''s chief executive, Musk, was scheduled to appear in court on October17, and his deposition on Thursday was postponed by mutual agreement.
Twitter''s stock, which ended the day down 3.7 percent at $49.39 (roughly Rs. 4,100), increased 1% after hours as investors appeared reassured after days of panic. This week, Musk said he would purchase Twitter at the $54.20 per share price he agreed in April, with the condition that the deal secure debt financing.
Musk had a heckle, who spent months in litigation with Twitter as he tried to get out of the contract. He claimed that Twitter misrepresented the number of real users on its platform, among others.
Musk said in a Thursday court filing that banks are cooperating to fund the deal, but he needed more time. He said a brief delay was preferred to the months it will take for a trial and appeal.
Twitter had said Musk should be forced to close next week, and an executive for a lending bank claimed on Thursday that Musk has yet to send them a borrowing notice and has not disclosed that he intends to close.
Major banks that planned to raise $12.5 billion (roughly 1,02,300 crore) might be facing significant losses as market volatility slowed and increased appetite for leveraged financing.
"There''s still some uncertainty as to whether or not Elon can obtain the required financing to complete the transaction," said Randy Frederick, the head of the Schwab Center''s trading and derivatives.
Musk raised $15.4 billion (about Rs. 1,26,800 crore) by selling Tesla shares this year, and is keen to fund large investors for a portion of the financing, indicating that he will sell more of the electric-vehicle manufacturer''s stock to finance the transaction.
"Financing will eventually conclude by going through one way or another. At this point, we need to negotiate terms, according to Robert Gilliland, the managing director of Concenture Wealth Management.
Thomson Reuters 2022