Twitter stock suspension: TWTR shares won’t trade on Friday as Elon Musk’s takeover nears

By Michael Grothaus

October 27, 2022

Update Friday, 10:40 a.m. ET:

 

After Elon Musk took over Twitter and reportedly fired some of its top executives late Thursday, Twitter filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission asking that its shares be removed from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). According to a notice on the SEC website, the exchange intends to remove the shares by the opening bell on Tuesday, November 8.

Twitter shares were trading at $53.70 before they were halted on Friday, slightly below the $54.20 Musk agreed to pay for them.

Original story:

Twitter shares will be suspended from trading on Friday, October 28, 2022, according to a report from Reuters. The news agency cites the website of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as listing the suspension of the social media site’s stock. Here’s what you need to know:

  • What’s happening? Twitter shares will be suspended from trading on the NYSE tomorrow, Friday, October 28, 2022.
  • Why are Twitter shares suspended? It all comes back to the long-running will-he-or-won’t-he drama of billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying the social media network. Previously, a judge ordered Musk to close his $44 billion takeover deal by October 28. By suspending Twitter shares from trading on that day, investors—and the stock itself—are likely to be protected from wild swings in the stock’s price should more drama arise.
  • So, is Musk going to buy Twitter or not? Only he knows, but Reuters says that equity investors, including Sequoia Capital, Binance, and Qatar Investment Authority, have received the paperwork they need to move forward with the financing commitment they’ve made to fund the deal. That suggests the deal is moving ahead.
  • What has Musk said recently about the Twitter deal? (November 13, 2022) he tweeted a video of himself arriving at Twitter’s headquarters, with the message “Entering Twitter HQ–let that sink in!” That suggests that he is moving forward with the deal. His Twitter bio also now reads “Chief Twit.”
  • How has Twitter stock reacted to the news? As of the time of this writing, TWTR stock is at $53.91, or up about 1% in premarket trading. Musk’s original proposal, you may recall, was to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, so the price is getting close. In fact, Twitter shares are trading higher than they’ve been all year.
  • When will TWTR shares begin trading again? Unless unforeseen events occur, it’s likely that Twitter shares will begin trading again on Monday, October 31, 2022.

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