Elon Musk’s bid to purchaseTwitter for an estimated $44 billion has been pending since April for several reasons, one of which is that Musk needs to win shareholder approval in order for the deal to close.
It looks like things are moving along. A new filing with the SEC on Tuesday revealed that Twitter’s Board unanimously agreed to urge shareholders to approve the pending deal.
“Twitter’s Board of Directors, after considering the factors more fully described in the enclosed proxy statement, unanimously: (1) determined that the merger agreement is advisable and the merger and the other transactions contemplated by the merger agreement are fair to, advisable and in the best interests of Twitter and its stockholders; and (2) adopted and approved the merger agreement, the merger and the other transactions contemplated by the merger agreement,” the filing reads.
Musk himself is currently the majority shareholder of Twitter, owning an estimated 10% of the company’s shares.
The Board’s unanimous decision is not unexpected — Board members also voted unanimously to accept Musk’s initial bid to buy Twitter in April.
At the time, the billionaire agreed to purchase the company for $54.20 per share in cash, and all shareholders would receive $54.20 in cash for each of their shares should the deal close.
Twitter would also then become a privately-held company under Musk.
The specific date and time of the shareholder meeting was not revealed in the document, though Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has said that the deal is expected to close by the end of this year, with others estimating the meeting could take place as early as the end of July.
Musk was slammed by Twitter shareholders with a class-action lawsuit last month.
The legal document alleges that Musk violated corporate laws by delaying his disclosure of how many shares of Twitter he actually owned before placing his bid to purchase the company, as well as claiming the billionaire was privy to insider information before purchasing said shares via conversations he had with Twitter Board members and executives.
Aside from the shareholder vote, Musk will also need to provide proof of financing in order for the deal to close.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Twitter shares were down nearly 39% in a one-year period.
