Twitter confirms Elon Musk buyout offer; likely to close deal at $54.20 per share

San Francisco: Twitter on Tuesday (US time) confirmed receiving a letter from Elon Musk, stating he will go through the deal he signed early this year to buy the platform for USD 44 billion.

The development comes just weeks before the scheduled start of a bitter court case over his efforts to withdraw from the deal.

The world's richest man said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he sent Twitter a letter vowing to honor the contract.

The development was confirmed through the official account of Twitter Investor Relations, which read, "Twitter issued this statement about today's news: We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share."

Musk's potential stewardship of the social media site has sparked worry from activists who fear he could open the gates to more abusive and misinformative posts.

Early reports on Tuesday of the U-turn by Musk prompted a surge in Twitter's share value that triggered a suspension of trading, which resumed after the regulatory filing.

"We write to notify you that the Musk Parties intend to proceed to close of the transaction," read a copy of the letter to Twitter filed with the SEC.

Twitter confirmed to AFP that it received the letter from Musk, and said it intends to close the buyout deal at the agreed-on price of $54.20 per share.

Conditions noted in Musk's letter included that the court halt action in the lawsuit against him. He had been slated to be questioned under oath by Twitter attorneys later this week.

"I think that Musk realized he was not going to win that trial," University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told AFP.

"Ever since he had buyer's remorse, the problem has been why, and why had he not done due diligence up front."

A serial entrepreneur made rich through his success with Tesla electric cars, Musk began to step back from the Twitter deal soon after it was agreed.

He said in July that he was canceling the purchase because he was misled by Twitter concerning the number of fake "bot" accounts, allegations rejected by the company.

Twitter, meanwhile, has sought to prove Musk was contriving excuses to walk away because he changed his mind.

Musk made his unsolicited bid to buy Twitter without asking for estimates regarding spam or fake accounts, and even sweetened his offer to the board by withdrawing a diligence condition, the lawsuit said.