Judge halts Twitter-Elon Musk trial to allow buyout to close

A judge has postponed the trial between Twitter and Elon Musk, allowing the Tesla CEO more time to finish his $44 billion proposal to acquire Twitter after months of fighting to get out of the transaction.

Musk requested a postponement of the upcoming Delaware court trial, where he was expected to fare poorly against Twitter's lawsuit to compel him to finish his April merger agreement. Musk resurrected the takeover bid on Monday but stated that he needed time to secure the necessary funds.

The head of the Delaware Chancery Court, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, announced on Thursday that Musk and Twitter now have until October 28 to close the deal. She warned that a trial initially scheduled on October 17 will occur in November if they do not comply.

Twitter had requested McCormick to proceed with the trial earlier on Thursday, stating that the billionaire refuses to respect the "contractual obligations" of his April deal to buy and privatize the social media business.

Twitter refuted Musk's assertion that the San Francisco-based firm is refusing to accept the new proposal, which Musk informed the company about earlier this week after attempting to terminate the agreement in the summer. Musk's request to postpone the trial was regarded as "an invitation to further mischief and delay" since his justifications for canceling the agreement lacked validity.

Twitter reiterated in a statement issued after the judge's ruling that it was prepared to close the transaction at the share price agreed upon in April: "We look forward to closing the transaction at $54.20 per share by October 28," referring to the price Musk initially offered for each Twitter share.

Andrew Jennings, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, stated that Twitter desires assurance that the transaction will be finalized and will not permit "Musk to back out again."

Musk's attorneys stated that Twitter's opposition to the trial postponement was "based on the theoretical possibility" that Musk would not be able to secure the necessary funding, which they termed "baseless speculation."

They reported that Musk's financial backers "have indicated that they are willing to honor their commitments" and are seeking to conclude the transaction by October 28.

Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement released on Thursday, "Twitter offered Mr. Musk billions off the transaction price, but he declined because Twitter attempted to impose self-serving conditions on the deal." He did not elaborate on the conditions in question. Twitter has not elaborated on the negotiations beyond what its lawyers have stated in court.

Thursday's closing price for Twitter shares was $49.39, a decrease of $1.91, or 3.7%. It was the second day of falls for the stock following a more than 22% increase on Tuesday following Musk's reiterated offer to purchase the company.