Musk is signaling the completion of a  billion deal with Twitter this week

Musk is signaling the completion of a $44 billion deal with Twitter this week

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Elon Musk confirmed in a video call with his advisers that he intends to complete his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Friday, potentially ending a turbulent acquisition process, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Another sign that the deal will close by the end of the week, in Musk Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom lawyers sent documents to investors on the deal, according to two investors and a person close to the Tesla boss.

A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, which includes Bank of America and Barclays, committed $13 billion to finance the deal back in April. Meanwhile, Musk has raised at least $7 billion for his bid from a roster of equity investors including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and asset management groups Fidelity, Brookfield and Sequoia Capital.

Confirmation from Musk that he intends to close the deal would be a relief Twitter shareholders are worried that the billionaire, who has repeatedly tried to find a way to back out of the deal, will try to find a last-minute reason to back out of the deal.

Shares of Twitter rose 2.7% to $52.92 on the news, the highest since Musk agreed to pay $54.20 a share to buy the company in April.

Major hedge funds, including DE Shaw, which are betting on the deal to go through, increased their positions ahead of Friday’s expected close.

One told the Financial Times he added to his position after a Bloomberg report that US officials were debating whether they could renegotiate the deal on national security grounds – which the White House later denied – sent shares tumbling. During last Friday’s selloff, the fund bought more than 200,000 shares at an average price below $50 a share. “Once it closes, I’ll be happy,” the hedge fund manager said.

Months after agreeing to buy Twitter, Musk, who waived due diligence to buy the platform, said he was pulling the plug on the deal, citing concerns about fake accounts and cybersecurity. Twitter sued Musk to force it to shut down.

The legal battle between Musk and Twitter was set to go before the Delaware Court of Chancery this month. However, faced with increasing legal pressure, Musk capitulatedsaying he was willing to buy the company at the originally agreed price if the lawsuit was dropped.

Twitter resisted immediate approval, citing a ​deep distrust of Musk, but the court ordered the parties to find a way to close the deal by Oct. 28 or face court in November.

One person familiar with Twitter’s thinking said the company also expects the deal to close on Friday. Bloomberg first reported Musk’s conversation with advisers on Tuesday. A CNBC reporter first reported that investors received documents from Musk’s lawyers.

Twitter declined to comment. A spokesman for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Additional reporting by Richard Waters in San Francisco and Arash Masoudi in London

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