your current location is:Home > TechnologyHomeTechnology
See you on October 28th! Judge sets deadline for Musk takeover of Twitter
Musk's acquisition of Twitter has been suspended, and the deal needs to be completed by October 28.
On October 6, local time, Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the U.S. Court of Chancery in Delaware ruled that it would suspend the acquisition of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and social media Twitter (Twitter), and asked both parties Complete the transaction by 5pm on October 28. If the deal is not completed by then, the trial will reopen in November.
According to the previous arrangement, the two sides were originally scheduled for a five-day trial on October 17.
The judge-ordered extension is a major victory for Musk. Earlier on October 3, Musk proposed in a letter to Twitter to continue to buy Twitter at a price of $54.20 per share, but only on the condition that Musk can obtain debt financing and the court suspends the hearing of the case. An Oct. 6 court filing also showed that Musk asked a judge to suspend the case.
Earlier, although Twitter accepted Musk's proposal to restart the acquisition at the original price, it refused to withdraw the lawsuit. According to an Oct. 6 court filing, Twitter believes Musk should close the deal by Oct. 10.
Twitter said Musk had refused to meet "contractual obligations" and had previously tried to delay the trial several times. Twitter's lawyers pointed out that Musk's request to adjourn the trial was "another hoax and delay."
According to Bloomberg, talks between Musk and Twitter were at an impasse before a judge made a decision to suspend the lawsuit. At issue is whether Musk can secure the debt financing he mentioned in the letter.
In April, Musk announced an acquisition of Twitter for $54.20 per share, valued at about $44 billion. Seven banks, including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Barclays, agreed to provide Musk with about $13 billion in debt.
The debt includes $6.5 billion in leveraged loans, a $500 million revolving credit facility, $3 billion in secured bonds and $3 billion in unsecured bonds, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Musk's lawyer said, "So far, Musk has a good chance of getting financing, which means the acquisition can be completed around October 28."
Twitter’s lawyers, however, said that a representative of a bank company involved in the debt deal attested that Musk had not sent them a borrowing notice or otherwise indicated to them that he intended to complete the acquisition.
The lawyer added, “The bank indicated that the debt financing needed to close the deal could have been completed in July, but ultimately fell through because of Musk’s claims to end the acquisition.”
Twitter's concerns are not unreasonable. Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, said uncertainty remains about whether Musk will receive the debt financing.
The Washington Post noted that the deal is less attractive to banks than the deal Musk and Twitter signed in April. But demand from banks for riskier bonds has been lowered due to changes in interest rates and concerns about the economic situation.
Apollo Global Management Inc and Sixth Street Partners have terminated an agreement to finance debt, Gary Black, a partner at investment advisory firm The Future Fund LLC, said on Oct. 6.
Andrew Jennings, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, said Twitter now wants to make sure the deal goes through without giving Musk any leeway.
But after the judge ruled, Twitter had to accept a decision to suspend the trial. "We look forward to closing the transaction at $54.20 by October 28," a Twitter spokesperson said.
Twitter's general counsel, Sean Edgett, also sent an update to the company's employees, saying Twitter will not be in court on Oct. 17 and will follow a judge's order to close the deal by Oct. 28.
The Wall Street Journal said that from the current situation analysis, the possibility of Musk winning the lawsuit is very small, but once Musk wins the lawsuit, Twitter will not be able to bear the consequences. For this reason, most cases where deals fall apart end in negotiated settlements, often with small price cuts.
As of the close of U.S. stocks on October 6, Twitter fell 3.72% to close at $49.39.
related articles
Article Comments (0)
- This article has not received comments yet, hurry up and grab the first frame~