Twitter sticks to Musk deal

Elon Musk first discussed Twitter's privatization with the social media company's board of directors more than a week before its initial 9.2 percent stake was disclosed as a passive stake, and more than two weeks before it revealed a hostile one $44 billion takeover bid went public.

The future of the $44 billion deal was hanging in the balance Tuesday after Musk taunted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and said the deal could not move forward without further clarity on the extent of the fake account problem.

Twitter on Tuesday insisted on going through with the deal: "The board and Mr. Musk have agreed to a transaction at $54.20 per share. We believe this agreement is in the best interests of all shareholders. We intend to complete the transaction and enforce the merger agreement."

The documents released by Twitter on Tuesday outline the chronology of Musk's efforts to acquire the social media company, showing that the billionaire had already been negotiating to join the board for several days and had already started conceding an acquisition on March 27 to discuss.

Twitter's latest report raises new questions about whether the billionaire Tesla boss has complied with US disclosure rules. Any investor who owns more than 5 percent of a publicly traded US company is required to disclose their ownership to inform other shareholders that they may be attempting to control or influence the company. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk announced on April 4 that he had become Twitter's largest shareholder, but indicated that he would be a passive investor, stating in a filing that he had "no current plans or intentions" to make an offer close. A day later, he amended that filing to state that he was an active investor, but again stated that he had "no current plans" for a takeover bid.

According to Twitter's filings, Musk previously informed the board on March 27 that he was "considering various options regarding his ownership structure, including a possible joining of Twitter's board of directors, privatization of Twitter, or incorporation a competitor of Twitter".

On April 9, Musk told the social media company that he would not be joining the board and "will make an offer to privatize Twitter," according to filings filed Tuesday.

In Musk's on April 11 The filing made no explicit mention of an intention to make an offer, only an opportunity to speak with Twitter's board and management team "from time to time" about "potential business combinations and strategic alternatives. His hostile bid for the company was officially announced on April 14.

Musk on Monday expressed doubts about closing the deal at $54.20 per share, saying a reduction in the offer price was “not out of the question.” Under

the merger agreement, Musk will buy his equity commitment funding and the transaction to close when all other closing conditions are met, raising the possibility of litigation between Musk and Twitter if the Tesla boss decides not to go ahead with the transaction. If the deal fails for any other reason, Musk would have to pay a $1 billion settlement.

The new filings also shed light on Musk's discussions with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey ahead of the $44 billion takeover bid.

Talks between the two billionaire friends first took place on March 26, when Musk contacted Dorsey to discuss the company's future, the filings show. That was a few days before he announced his involvement.

Dorsey told Musk on April 5 that as a private company, Twitter would be better placed to focus on execution," Twitter filings said. Four days later, Musk backed out of his plan to join the board of Instead, he told the board that he would make an offer to take the company

private.Fundings filed Tuesday show Agrawal is entitled to $60 million and Twitter CFO Ned Segal $46 million could receive as a "golden parachute" if they were involuntarily fired after the deal closes.Goldman

Sachs will receive $80 million for advising Twitter, and JPMorgan will make $53 million, according to the company's

filings Twitter was already trading under Musk's offer but fell sharply after the billionaire said that the practice acquisition would possibly fail. Twitter shares were up 3 percent at $38.63 on Tuesday afternoon in New York.

After Musk's offer, there was also unrest within Twitter. Last week, Agrawal fired two senior executives and announced a hiring freeze for most staff. On Tuesday, a Twitter spokesman confirmed a report by Bloomberg that three more senior employees will leave the company: Max Schmeiser, head of data science, Katrina Lane, vice president of Twitter services, and Ilya Brown, vice president of product management.