Twitter's management intends to force Elon Musk to sign the deal to acquire the social network, after the South African businessman announced that the deal has been "temporarily put on hold".

Twitter's management intends to force Elon Musk to sign the deal to acquire the social network, after the South African businessman announced that the deal has been "temporarily put on hold."

"We intend to close the transaction and impose an agreement," the board of directors revealed in a statement sent to Bloomberg and quoted by the newspaper Negócios. The directors have already voted unanimously to recommend to shareholders that they accept the proposal of the self-styled "emperor of mars."

The proposal includes a clause that stipulates the payment of $1 billion in damages if the deal collapses due to financing issues. The document also provides for the possibility of Twitter forcing Musk to consummate the deal.

This means that if the case ends up in court, Twitter can secure a mandatory order for Musk to sign the agreement, rather than pay damages.

On Monday, Musk indicated that a lower price was "not out of the question." Later, the social network said in a statement that "Twitter is committed to completing the transaction at the agreed upon price."

Shares of the social network have been trading below the $54.20 offered by Musk but on Monday suffered a tumble to $37.39, a low of about two months.