According to a court document filed on Thursday, a Delaware judge has suspended Twitter Inc.'s lawsuit against Elon Musk until 5 p.m. ET (9 p.m. GMT) on October 28 to allow the billionaire's acquisition transaction to conclude.
In April, Musk agreed to acquire Twitter, but he soon changed his mind. The social media company then requested a court order so that Musk could proceed with the transaction.
Twitter had earlier opposed Musk's request for a judge to postpone the litigation against him, saying Musk should complete the $44 billion purchase of the firm next week and that the case should proceed to trial until he does so. Musk stated this week that he would purchase Twitter at the $54.20 per share price that was agreed upon in April, subject to receiving loan funding.
According to a court filing, banks are cooperating to finance the transaction, which is scheduled to conclude on or about October 28. "As a result, there is no need for an expedited trial to order defendants to do what they are already doing and this action is now moot," the filing said.
On Thursday, Oct.11, Musk was supposed to be deposed; however, the parties amicably decided to postpone his interview. The five-day trial is set to start on October 17. Musk claimed that the debt financing parties' attorneys have convinced him that they are ready to uphold their responsibilities. According to the petition, continuing the case would necessitate a trial and appeals, which may delay payment to Twitter's shareholders by months.
"Twitter will not take yes for an answer. Astonishingly, they have insisted on proceeding with this litigation, recklessly putting the deal at risk and gambling with their stockholders' interests," the filing said.
Talks have lingered on since Musk made his offer on Monday longer than some had initially anticipated, according to sources familiar with the legal dispute. Due to the market instability and decreased demand for leveraged financing brought on by the rapid pace of interest rate hikes, major banks that committed to funding $12.5 billion, or around 28 percent of the deal, may suffer significant losses.
Musk has sold shares of Tesla this year to raise $15.4 billion, and because he is relying on big investors for a portion of the funding, there is suspicion that he may sell additional shares of the electric vehicle manufacturer's stock to finance the deal.
On the New York Stock Exchange, Twitter shares ended the day down 3.7% at $49.39.
