Greenlight's Einhorn optimistic Twitter deal with Musk will close

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, whose Greenlight Capital has had a long history with entrepreneur Elon Musk, in a letter on Friday said he expects Musk's deal to buy Twitter Inc. will "close at or near the originally agreed upon price."

Einhorn told his investors in August that he had bought a stake in Twitter, and now said he believes the lawsuit in Delaware that could decide the fate of the deal "is going well for TWTR."

The hedge fund acquired a new stake in the social media company in July as Twitter sued to force Elon Musk to buy the company even as the billionaire entrepreneur said he had changed his mind about the deal.

Earlier this month, Musk reversed course again and said he would proceed with the deal on original terms.

A Delaware judge ordered a pause to Twitter's lawsuit against Musk, giving the billionaire until Oct. 28 to close the deal.

In August, Einhorn said in a letter to investors that the Delaware Court, the most prominent business court in the United States, had reason to force Musk to complete the purchase. Otherwise, it would leave doors open for future buyers' remorse suits.

Einhorn's firm paid an average $37.24 for the stock, which was trading at $50 on Friday morning trading.

"We expect that one way or another, the deal will close at or near the originally agreed upon price," Greenlight said, referring to the $54.20 price per share the deal was originally proposed.

Greenlight's manager said the investment in Twitter is "inherently short-term," adding the hedge fund plans to exit its position upon resolution of the platform sale.

Greenlight Capital posted a return of 4% in the third quarter, net of fees and expenses, and is up 17.7% in the year through September.

Reuters saw a copy of the letter.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Carolina Mandl; Additional reporting Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick Zieminski)