By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
(Reuters) – A majority of Twitter Inc’s shareholders have voted in favor of the social media company’s $44 billion sale to Elon Musk, people familiar with the tally said on Monday.
The deadline for the shareholder vote on the deal is on Tuesday but enough investors had voted by Monday evening for the outcome to be certain, the sources said.
The sources requested anonymity ahead of an official announcement. Twitter and Musk representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shareholders were widely expected to vote in favor after a stock market downturn made Musk’s $54.20-per-share deal for Twitter, which was signed in April, look pricey in the current environment. Twitter shares are now hovering around $41 per share.
Musk has informed Twitter he will not go ahead with the acquisition, arguing he was misled over the spam accounts on the platform and was not notified of a pay settlement the company reached with one of its top executives. The two sides are scheduled to battle it out in court next month.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Rhode Island; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis)
