Elon Musk proposes to acquire Twitter for original price

Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as discussing confidential information. Shares of Twitter climbed as much as 18% on the news. Representatives for Musk and for Twitter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Musk’s proposal to match the original deal terms means Twitter is facing a future under the leadership of a mercurial billionaire who has spent months publicly criticizing its management and questioning its value. It also means that his claims — about how many of Twitter’s users are bots, for instance — are not likely to be scrutinized in a courtroom.

Musk had been trying for months to back out of his contract to acquire Twitter. Musk began showing signs of buyer’s remorse shortly after the deal was announced, alleging that Twitter had misled him about the size of its user base and the prevalence of automated accounts known as bots.

Musk formally quit the accord in July, and Twitter sued him in Delaware Chancery Court to force him to go forward with the purchase. A trial is scheduled to begin on 17 October. In the weeks-long run-up to that showdown, lawyers for both sides have fired subpoenas at each other aimed at teasing out testimony and evidence.

Musk’s side needed to demonstrate that Twitter violated the terms of the deal. Twitter alleged that Musk used the bots issue as a pretext for backing out of a deal he no longer found economically sound.

Musk’s legal team was getting the sense that the case was not going well, as Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick repeatedly sided with Twitter in pre-trial rulings, a person familiar said. Even with the late emergence of a Twitter whistleblower who alleged executives weren’t forthcoming on security and bot issues, there were concerns Musk’s side would not be able to prove a material adverse effect.