Elon Musk will complete the $44 billion takeover of Twitter this Friday

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he’s committed to closing the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Friday, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the ongoing talks.

According to the report, the world’s richest person notified co-investors who pitched in to fund the multi-billion buyout that he plans to close the deal in two days. that Musk has received $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing he needs to complete the acquisition. The fund will cover the $44 billion price tag and closing costs, Reuters said.

The source also told Reuters that equity investors, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Sequoia Capital, Binance, Qatar Investment Authority, and others “have received the requisite paperwork for the financing commitment from Musk’s lawyers.”

The report is also the clearest indication yet that Musk plans to comply with a Delaware court judge’s deadline to complete the transaction by Friday.

Early this month, a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has until October 28 to complete his acquisition of Twitter if he wants to avoid a trial, granting Musk a slight reprieve. The ruling came a few days after Musk shocked the world when he announced he was ready to proceed with the $44 billion takeover deal to end all litigation in order to close the deal.

As we reported last week, Musk planned to lay off nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers after the acquisition is complete. Musk told investors in his $44 billion takeover deal to buy the social giant “that he planned to get rid of nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers, whittling the company down to a skeleton staff of just over 2,000.

The report has put Twitter employees in panic mode. In a draft open letter received by Times, unknown Twitter employees demanded that Musk commits to preserving Twitter’s current headcount if his takeover of the company goes through.

The letter goes on to demand that he does not discriminate against employees based on their political beliefs and that he commits to “fair” severance policies and more communication about working conditions. “We demand to be treated with dignity, and to not be treated as mere pawns in a game played by billionaires,” the list of demands says

On April 25, Twitter agreed to sell the company to Elon Musk for $44 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing the proposed transaction.

The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter. Musk needed to use his Tesla stock to raise $21 billion in equity to fund his takeover of the social media giant.