Elon Musk’s proposed £35.8bn Twitter deal gets board approval

Twitter’s board has recommended unanimously that shareholders approve the proposed 44 billion dollar (£35.8 billion) sale of the company to billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing.

Mr Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain far below his offering price, signalling considerable doubt that it will happen.

On Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Musk listed the approval of the deal by shareholders as one of several “unresolved matters” related to the Twitter deal.

Shares of Twitter were essentially flat just before the opening bell on Tuesday and far short of the 54.20 dollars per share that Mr Musk has offered to pay for each.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday detailing a letter to investors, Twitter’s board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement”.

If the deal were to close now, investors in the company would pocket a profit of 15.22 dollars for each share they own.