Trading of Twitter shares halted as Musk proposes to proceed with takeover deal

Trading in shares of Twitter was halted after the stock spiked on reports that Elon Musk would proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy the company after months of legal battles.

The news, based on anonymous sources, was first reported by Bloomberg News. Musk offered to buy the San Francisco company at $54.20. Shares jumped nearly 13% to $47.95 before trading stopped.

According to the report Tuesday, Musk sent a letter to Twitter offering to complete the deal, which already has shareholder approval, at the original price.

Twitter did not immediately respond to messages for comment on Tuesday.

The trial seeking to compel Musk to buy Twitter is set to start in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.

Musk’s argument for winning the case — and thus walking away from the deal — has largely rested on his allegation that Twitter misrepresented how it measures the magnitude of “spam bot” accounts that are useless to advertisers. But most legal experts believed he faced an uphill battle in convincing Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the court’s head judge, that something changed since the April merger agreement that justifies terminating the deal.

Tesla was last up 1.6% at about $246, down sharply from an earlier high of $257.50.

Over $16 billion worth of Tesla shares had been exchanged as of midday, equivalent to almost 15% of all trading on Wall Street, according to a Reuters calculation.

Tesla's stock has been under pressure since Musk agreed to buy Twitter due to concerns about how much of the car maker's shares he might sell to fund the purchase.

(With inputs from Reuters)