The billionaire's surprise move came months after he tried to back out of a $44 billion deal to acquire the company.
In a surprise move that adds another twist to a months-long drama that has gripped the tech industry, Wall Street and Washington, Elon Musk on Monday night proposed a deal with Twitter that turns billionaire and social media company ends a bitter legal battle between ,
Arrangement Mr. Musk is allowing Twitter to acquire it for $54.20 a share, the price the company agreed to pay in April, said two people familiar with the offer who were not authorized to speak publicly.
But it was not immediately clear whether Twitter planned to accept his offer, which could be seen by Musk as a negotiating tactic to avoid Twitter's lawsuit against him. According to legal documents, Mr Musk will appear in Austin, Texas, on Thursday and Friday. Twitter may ask for court supervision to ensure Mr Musk follows through on his offer.
The potential deal comes after months of disputes that have created existential challenges for Twitter, depressed its stock price, discouraged its employees and made it dependent on advertisers for revenue.
A deal at the original price would be a win for Twitter, which struck a deal with Mr. Musk bought the company for $44 billion. Mr. Musk said in July that he no longer intended to complete the acquisition because he believed Twitter's service was being decimated by spam. Twitter sued him shortly after forcing him to complete the deal.
A person familiar with the conversation said Musk submitted his proposal to Twitter on Monday night. The two sides met during an emergency virtual court hearing on Tuesday to discuss the motion before Judge Kathleen McCormick, who oversaw the trial. This offer was previously reported by Bloomberg.
The person said that Mr. Musk and Twitter's lawyers are expected to reconvene in court later Tuesday to discuss next steps. If they choose to proceed with the sale of Twitter, the deal could potentially close within weeks.
Before trading was halted, the social media company's shares rose more than 12 percent on the news.
While a deal would end the uncertainty surrounding Twitter's immediate future, Mr. Musk's plans for the company uncertain. Shareholders voted in September to void the original agreement with Mr. Musk, who before trying to back away from the deal, told investors he could see the company achieve 500 million daily users and $13.2 billion in revenue by 2025.
Twitter and Mr. Musk was in a courtroom in Delaware for the showdown this month. The company argued in the legal documents that Mr. Musk's reasons for leaving the deal were smokescreen, suggesting he was expecting a lower price after the stock market crashed his net worth.
Mr. Musk said Twitter most likely underestimated the amount of spam on its platform, making the company worth less than it initially believed. He also cited the whistleblower's claims of a former Twitter executive, who said the company misled regulators about its security practices, as a reason for pulling out of the deal.
A deal could allow both sides to avoid a messy public hearing, which would most likely involve testimony from Musk and senior Twitter executives.
