According to people familiar with the situation, the two sides talked about doing the deal at a discounted price in the days leading up to Musk's renewed offer.
The discount for Musk was 8% and the savings were more than 3 billion dollars. According to reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, other prices were discussed, but a price of $50 per share was the focus last week. All of them asked not to be identified. Friday was the last day of trading for the shares of the social media company.
It's a common occurrence when Musk negotiates with the executives of the company.
Alex Spiro, Musk's attorney, told Insider that Musk decided to do the deal at the original $54.20 a share price and on the original terms because he wouldn't accept all kinds of things.
Spiro said that they wanted the carrot and no stick.
Spiro didn't say what the demands were. The main sticking point in the negotiations has been Musk's allegation that the number of fake accounts on the platform is vastly overstated.
As the two sides debated a lower deal price of $50 a share, Musk was asked to drop the bot search, so that may have become a negotiation point.
Staying with the original $54.20 offer might have made more sense for Musk. In the Monday letter renewing his first takeover bid, Musk's lawyers made it clear that the billionaire can still pursue any kind of action he wants against the social networking site. The letter states that the renewed $44 billion offer is without prejudice to their rights, including their right to assert the defenses and counterclaims pending in the action.
The issue with the language surrounding Musk's debt financing is said to have been taken up by the side of the company. The company wanted Musk to complete the acquisition regardless of what banks or other financiers did.
With a courtroom trial and a deposition fast approaching, Musk decided to simply offer to buy all of the company in order to avoid all of this.
The recent fraught negotiations were mentioned in a legal filing in Delaware Chancery Court, where a lawsuit was filed against Musk in July. Musk requested a stay of the lawsuit and trial. His lawyers said the trial and case was "moot" because of Musk's renewed full-price offer. They said that Musk could be the owner by the end of October.
The social networking site pushed back. Company lawyers said that they didn't trust Musk's word at the moment. If he has renewed commitments from banks financing more than $12 billion, then the deal should be able to close by October 10, they said.
The judge paused on the arguments. She agreed to put the case on hold until October. She said that the next three weeks would be used for the transaction. A trial will take place in November if they can't reach a settlement.
"We look forward to closing the transaction at $54.20 by October 28th," the company said in a statement.
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