Twitter Inc. shareholders are poised to approve a $44 billion takeover bid by Elon Musk, people familiar with the matter said, leaving the fate of the deal in the hands of a Delaware judge as the social media company tries to force the move. Billionaire to follow the purchase in court.
Earlier votes showed investors broadly approved the deal, the people said, although there is always a chance the outcome could change as shareholders change their votes at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning Pacific time.
Musk, the company’s largest shareholder with an estimated 10 percent stake, did not vote his stake one way or the other as of Monday afternoon, and Twitter TWTR
He violated the merger agreement, some people said. The deal calls for Musk to back the shares in the deal, although his support isn’t critical if enough other investors do.
Other big Twitter shareholders, including index fund managers who control about 20% of Twitter’s stock, are ready to back the deal, some people said.
Musk agreed in April to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter. Shares of the social media company have been trading well below that since Twitter announced in May that the deal was “on hold,” only to later pull out of the deal. That means more shareholders stand to gain if the deal closes on early terms. The stock closed Monday at $41.41.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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