Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter after all

The news: Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Twitter he’s willing to pay the original offer of $54.20 per share for the social media company, per Insider.

How we got here: Musk attempted to back out of the deal in July after announcing in April that he was buying the social media company for around $44 billion. 

• Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk, hiring a legal team to sue the billionaire in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The trial was slated to start on October 17.
• On Tuesday, Twitter issued a statement saying it received Musk’s offer and that its intention is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share, per TechCrunch.
• Musk’s public dispute with Twitter and its leadership in the months since the initial offer negatively affected its personnel and advertising ambitions.

The big takeaway: Elon Musk wants to avoid going to trial. 

The Delaware Court of Chancery has built a reputation for enforcing deal certainty in mergers, meaning it is likely to rule that the Twitter deal be closed, with possible damages for Musk’s delaying tactics.