Judge delays Twitter trial to give Musk time to complete buyout

A judge has delayed a looming trial between Twitter and Elon Musk, giving Mr Musk more time to complete the $44bn (£39bn) deal to buy the company that he has spent months trying to get out of.

Delaware Chancellor and Chancellor Kathryn St. Jude McCormick said Thursday that Musk must close the deal by Oct. 28. If he doesn’t, the trial, scheduled for October 17, will take place in November, she said.

Twitter had asked the court to continue Mr. Musk’s upcoming trial, saying the billionaire rejected his “contractual obligations” in his April deal to buy the social media company for $44 billion.

Twitter lawyers sent a letter to the chief justice of the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday, shortly after Mr. Musk’s legal team asked her to cancel the trial when he re-bids for the company.

Twitter disputed Musk’s claims that the San Francisco-based company refused to accept a new bid, Musk told the company earlier this week after trying to terminate the deal over the summer.

The company has been seeking a court order to force the merger to close and said it intends to close the deal at an agreed price, but described Musk’s move to delay the trial as “further mischief and delay.”

Twitter has said Musk should aim to close the deal by Monday, with the trial set to begin a week later on Oct. 17.

Mr. Musk’s lawyers said earlier on Thursday that the trial should be delayed to give Musk more time to secure financing.

Twitter shares fell $1.91, or 3.7 percent, to close at $49.39 (£43.97) on Thursday. The stock fell for a second day after surging more than 22% on Tuesday after Musk made another offer to buy the company.