In a filing on Tuesday, Twitter said it was still committed to its agreement with Elon Musk and urged shareholders to vote in favor of it, reported Bloomberg.
The filing detailed the quickness of the deal that came together and the frequent shifting of Mr. Musk’s whims as he moved from shareholder to board nominee to acquirer. It also showed Twitter’s continued commitment to the deal, even as Mr. Musk appeared hesitant: “This deal cannot move forward,” he tweeted early Tuesday, shortly before the filing was published.
Related: Elon Musk Says Twitter Deal Is Temporarily On Hold
“Twitter is committed to completing the transaction on the agreed price and terms as promptly as practicable” Twitter said in a statement accompanying the filing. The value of Twitter’s stock could decline significantly if the deal does not move forward, Twitter said.
Twitter’s board chair, Bret Taylor, also spoke with several of Twitter’s institutional shareholders to gauge their interest in Mr. Musk’s offer, the filing said. These shareholders said Twitter had failed to execute on its past opportunities to grow the business but that the recent replacement of Mr. Dorsey with a new chief executive, Parag Agrawal, could make them open to a plan for Twitter to remain independent. But they also cautioned Twitter to consider Mr. Musk’s proposal, which values the company at $44 billion, against the risks of pressing forward as a public company.
According to Bloomberg its shares have already fallen below their value when Mr. Musk first revealed his stake in Twitter, and they are now far below the price he is offering in his takeover bid, a signal that investors have doubts that a deal will close.
The transaction is subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in 2022.
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