Musk lawyers say Twitter refusing new 44 billion dollar bid for company

6 October 2022, 22:24

Financial Markets Wall Street Musk Twitter. Picture: PA

The Tesla billionaire made a renewed offer to take over to company earlier this week.

Twitter is asking a Delaware court to proceed with an upcoming trial against Elon Musk, saying the billionaire refuses to accept the “contractual obligations” of his April agreement to buy the social media company for 44 billion dollars (£39 billion).

Twitter attorneys sent a letter on Thursday to the Delaware Chancery Court’s head judge, not long after Mr Musk’s legal team asked her to call off the trial while he works on a renewed bid to buy the company.

Twitter disputed Mr Musk’s claim that Twitter is refusing to accept the new bid, which Mr Musk told the company about earlier this week after trying to terminate the deal over the summer.

Twitter has been seeking a court order to force the completion of the merger and said it intends to close the deal at the agreed-upon price, but described Mr Musk’s move to delay the trial as “an invitation to further mischief and delay.”

Elon Musk’s lawyers have said Twitter is refusing to accept the Tesla billionaire’s renewed 44 billion dollar bid for the social media company and are asking a Delaware court to halt an upcoming trial.

Mr Musk made a renewed offer to take over to company earlier this week, hoping to end a protracted legal dispute that began when Musk tried to back out of the April deal and Twitter sued.

Twitter said earlier this week that it intends to close the deal at the agreed-upon price, but the two sides are still booked for an October 17 trial in Delaware over Mr Musk’s earlier attempts to terminate the deal.

On Wednesday, the judge presiding over the case said she will continue to press on towards the trial because, at the time, neither side had formally moved to stop it.

Mr Musk’s attorneys said the trial should be adjourned to leave more time for him to secure the financing.

“Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” said the court filing signed by Mr Musk’s lawyer Edward Micheletti. “Astonishingly, they have insisted on proceeding with this litigation, recklessly putting the deal at risk and gambling with their stockholders’ interests.”

Twitter sued Mr Musk to force him to complete the purchase after he tried to back out four months ago.

By Press Association