Twitter shares rise amid reports company will accept Musk’s $43 billion offer

Twitter Inc’s shares jumped at the opening of Wall Street trading on Monday amid reports the social media giant will soon accept Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s offer to takeover, reported news agency AFP.

About 10 minutes into trading, Twitter stock was trading 3.7 per cent higher. However the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.5 per cent at 12,778.57, and the broad-based S&P 500 had lost 0.7 per cent to 4,240.83.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 0.5 per cent to 33,639.01.

Twitter Inc is all set for a deal to sell itself to Musk for $54.20 per share in cash – the amount that the Tesla CEO originally offered to the social media giant and called his “best and final”, people familiar with the matter said, news agency  Reuters earlier reported.

The report, citing sources, added that Twitter may announce the 43 billion in cash deal later on Monday once its board has met to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders.

Twitter and Musk did not immediately comment on the development.

The world’s richest person has been negotiating to buy Twitter in a personal capacity.

Twitter shares were up 4.5 per cent in pre-market trading in New York on Monday at $51.15, Reuters added.

Musk has said Twitter needs to be taken private to grow and become a genuine platform for free speech.

Musk has been meeting with Twitter shareholders in the last few days, seeking support for his bid.

On Sunday, facing the pressure of shareholders, Twitter Inc kicked off deal negotiations with Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX chief had made the offer earlier this month. Musk had shaken up Twitter after he shared his letter on the micro-blogging site.