Twitter Inc’s shares jumped at the start of Wall Street trading on Monday, according to news agency AFP, amid reports the social media giant will soon accept Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s takeover offer.
After about ten minutes of trading, Twitter stock was up 3.7 percent. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5% to 12,778.57, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 4,240.83.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the industry standard, fell 0.5% to 33,639.01. Twitter Inc is nearing a deal to sell itself to Musk for $54.20 per share in cash – the price Musk initially offered the social media giant and dubbed his “best and final offer,” according to people familiar with the matter, as reported by news agency Reuters.
According to the report, Twitter may announce the 43 billion-dollar cash deal later Monday after its board of directors meets to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders.
The world’s wealthiest individual has been negotiating to acquire Twitter on a personal basis. Twitter shares were up 4.5 percent to $51.15 in New York pre-market trading on Monday, according to Reuters. Musk has stated that Twitter must be privatized in order to grow and develop into a genuine platform for free speech.
Musk has spent the last few days meeting with Twitter shareholders to solicit support for his bid. Twitter Inc began negotiations with Musk on Sunday, under pressure from shareholders. Earlier this month, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the offer. Musk shook up Twitter with his letter, which he shared on the microblogging site.
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