Kathleen McCormick, the judge overseeing the Twitter v Elon Musk trial, says the case is still set to go ahead later this month, despite Musk’s apparent willingness to now complete his deal to buy the social media platform.
McCormick says neither side has applied for a “stay” in the action. “The parties have not filed a stipulation to stay this action, nor has any party moved for a stay. I, therefore, continue to press on toward our trial set to begin on Oct. 17, 2022,” she wrote in a letter.
This week Musk performed a dramatic u-turn over his willingness to buy Twitter. After initially agreeing a price of $54.20 per share for the company, Musk attempted to pull out of the deal, claiming Twitter had not been honest about the number of bots on the platform. Twitter sued Musk and he counter-sued, and the case appeared destined for a messy conclusion in court.
But with the court date looming, Musk sent a letter to the company this week announcing his intention to buy the company for the original price he offered months ago. Legal experts believed Twitter would win the battle in court, and force Musk to complete the purchase.
Shares in Twitter soared on the news that Musk would go ahead with the deal, rising more than 20% to $52 a piece. Musk wrote in a tweet: “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app”.
But the share price did not reach the level Musk agreed to pay for the company, suggesting there is still some doubt the deal will happen. The announcement by McCormick could back up those fears.
Reuters also reported this week that Apollo Globe Management, the private equity group which was seeking to provide $1 billion to Musk for the Twitter buyout earlier this year, is no longer in discussions about such an agreement.