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Headline Roundup October 4th, 2022

Elon Musk Offers to Buy Twitter at Original Asking Price, Twitter Plans to Accept

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again offered to buy Twitter at his original asking price of $54.20 per share — just two weeks ahead of a trial in which Twitter would have tried to force Musk to honor their buyout agreement. 

Twitter said it planned to accept Musk’s offer. Musk, the world’s richest person, agreed to buy Twitter in April but later tried to back out of the deal, claiming Twitter had misrepresented the number of spam bots on its platform. Twitter denied Musk’s accusations and sued him to force him to buy the company. The announcement surprised investors, who sent Twitter’s stock up over 22% on Tuesday. At the same time, Trump-backed Truth Social’s stock dropped by about 5%

Coverage was widespread across the spectrum on Tuesday, particularly in business and technology outlets. Musk was more likely to be framed negatively in left-rated outlets and positively in right-rated outlets, but more often the deal was framed as surprising; a subheader in The Verge (Lean Left bias) said, “We’re as confused as you are.” Coverage in some outlets, like Bloomberg (Lean Left bias), framed Musk as “aiming to avoid” his court date with Twitter. 

Featured Coverage of this Story

Elon Musk just remembered he signed a contract to buy Twitter
Elon Musk just remembered he signed a contract to buy Twitter

Michael Gonzales (Getty Images)

Analysis

After six months of trying wriggle out of his $44-billion agreement to take over Twitter, Elon Musk says he’ll buy the social media platform after all.

On Oct. 4, Musk told the social media company that the deal is back on. In a letter to Twitter, first reported by Bloomberg, Musk said he is willing to go ahead with the deal at $54.20 per share, the original agreed-upon price.

It’s unclear what changed Musk’s mind. Perhaps it was the prospect of a high-profile trial against Twitter, which was due to start in two weeks, or it...

Open on Quartz
Twitter says it plans to close deal with Elon Musk
Twitter says it plans to close deal with Elon Musk

Reuters

News

Twitter said on Tuesday afternoon that it plans to close a deal with billionaire Elon Musk.

Twitter shares soared 22% in late afternoon trading on the news.

Earlier in the day, Musk revived his proposal to acquire the social media giant for his original offer of $54.20 per share.

The company originally accepted Musk's $44 billion offer in April. However, the billionaire notified Twitter in July that he was planning to terminate the deal after claiming the company breached its obligations by misrepresenting the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter...

Open on Fox Business
Elon Musk says he’ll buy Twitter, again, for $54.20 a share, again
Elon Musk says he’ll buy Twitter, again, for $54.20 a share, again

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Analysis

Elon Musk will actually buy Twitter — for real this time — at $54.20 a share. Musk confirmed the offer in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the SEC filing, he says he will “proceed to closing of the transaction” on the terms he negotiated with Twitter in April, as long as the lawsuit Twitter brought against him to force him to close the deal is adjourned.

The filing follows reporting from Bloomberg that suggested Musk would close the deal under the original terms he proposed in April before trying to back...

Open on The Verge

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