According to US media, Elon Musk wants to complete the takeover of the online network Twitter by the court-imposed deadline on Friday. The Tesla boss assured this at a video conference with bankers who are helping to finance the $ 44 billion deal, the financial service Bloomberg reported, citing insiders.

The banks, which are to provide $ 13 billion in loans, only have to settle the final formalities before the money is released for Musk. The tech billionaire himself and Twitter initially did not comment. The transaction must be completed by 5:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. CEST) this Friday, otherwise the deal, which has been contentious for months, will end up in court after all.

Musk has conditions

Musk had actually agreed on the takeover with Twitter in April. In July, however, he voided the agreement over alleged misrepresentations by the company about fake accounts. Twitter sued for compliance with the purchase agreement and a court case was scheduled to resolve the dispute. At the beginning of October, Musk surprisingly renewed his purchase offer.

However, he made it a condition that the court case - in which his chances were considered relatively slim - be settled. Twitter rejected this. The company was suspicious because Musk made his offer conditional on funding. The judge ultimately suspended the proceedings, but imposed a deadline of October 28th - if the deal is not through then, there will be a trial.