Twitter locks employee equity accounts as Musk deal deadline nears

October 19 News Twitter on Tuesday froze employees’ equity award accounts as the deadline to reach a buyout agreement with Tesla CEO Elon Musk loomed. That’s a sign that Twitter wants the deal to go through.

Twitter this week updated its employee FAQ page to remind employees that they will not be able to access or trade Equity Award Center stock. The change was made because “Twitter anticipates that an entity controlled by Musk is close to completing its acquisition of the company,” according to two people familiar with the matter.

“The freeze allows accounting reviewers to conduct final reconciliations of employee accounts prior to the closing of the acquisition,” the page update reads. Restricted stock awards for some employees will be awarded early next month, while others have been seeking Other jobs and plans to resign after the stock options are exercised. A Twitter spokesman declined to comment.

Freezing employee equity awards could be a clear sign that Twitter is moving forward with the proposed deal. Shares of Twitter rose 1.9% on the news and are currently trading at $51.6 a share, still below Musk’s $54.2 a share offer.

Under the presiding judge’s latest order, Musk and Twitter need to finalize the $44 billion deal by an Oct. 28 deadline. Musk had previously tried to walk away from the acquisition on the grounds that Twitter had misled him about the number of fake accounts, prompting Twitter to file a breach of contract lawsuit against him, hoping a judge would force it to complete the acquisition at an initially agreed price.

Earlier this month, Musk changed his mind again, saying he would follow the original terms of the deal. A judge has postponed a trial scheduled for this week to give the parties more time to hammer out the details of the deal.

Twitter employees have been anxiously awaiting the completion of the deal, with many worried about major layoffs when Musk takes over. On Blind, an anonymous employee chat site, many employees began sharing tips with colleagues on how to deal with layoffs.