Twitter wins first legal battle with Elon Musk as trial to go ahead in October

Twitter has won the first legal skirmish in its attempt to force Elon Musk to complete a $44bn (£36.7bn) takeover of the social media company, after a judge ruled that a trial will take place in October.

Twitter is ultimately seeking a legal verdict that will force Musk to go ahead with an agreed transaction that values the company at $54.20 per share. Musk pulled out of the deal this month, citing concerns over the number of spam accounts on the social media platform.

On 8 July, Musk said he was terminating the deal for three broad reasons: Twitter had breached the agreement by failing to provide enough information on spam accounts; that it had misrepresented the number of spam accounts in its disclosures to the US financial watchdog; and that it had breached the agreement by failing to consult with him when firing senior employees recently.

Savitt emphasized the importance of an expedited trial for Twitter to be able to make important business decisions affecting everything from employee retention to relationships with suppliers and customers. He also pointed out that the debt financing supporting the deal expires on 25 April next year, hastening the need for a swift legal resolution.

McCormick asked the parties to work out the schedule for the October trial, which she said would last five days.

Legal observers said the ruling was a boost for Twitter, which is demanding that Musk be held to a legal agreement struck in April to buy the business.

Commenting on the ruling, Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College law school, said the ruling was a victory for Twitter, which had been seeking a September trial in Delaware, the US state that is its corporate base.

He added that a trial could tarnish both sides.

Shares in Twitter rose 2.8% in early afternoon trading to $39.48 on Tuesday.