Elon Musk and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) began negotiations on Sunday over the potential sale of the social media site to the billionaire, according to news reports.
The company’s decision to start talks does not mean it will accept Musk's US$43bn offer, although it is now exploring whether a sale is possible, the Guardian reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Musk is said to have been meeting with Twitter shareholders over the last few days to gain support for his bid, which was initially made over a week ago.
Shareholders reportedly pushed Twitter to hold talks with Musk, who outlined a detailed financing plan last Thursday.
The board is engaging with the Tesla chief executive to gather more information and potentially get better terms despite Musk’s initial insistence that he was making the best and final offer, the Guardian said.
Twitter also wants to know more about any active investigations by regulators such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that may jeopardise the deal.
Musk may have breached SEC disclosure rules when he purchased a 9% stake in Twitter earlier this year.
In response, Twitter prevented Musk from raising his stake to above 15% without first negotiating a deal with the board, which led to the billionaire launching his takeover bid.