Twitter’s board has recommended unanimously that shareholders approve the proposed $44 billion sale of the company to billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain far below his offering price, signalling considerable doubt that it will happen.

On Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in an interview with Bloomberg, Musk listed the approval of the deal by shareholders as one of several “unresolved matters” related to the Twitter deal.

Shares of Twitter Inc were essentially flat just before the opening bell Tuesday and far short of the $54.20 per-share that Musk has offered to pay for each.

The company’s stock last reached that level on April 5 when it offered Musk a seat on the board before he had offered to buy all of Twitter.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission detailing on Tuesday, Twitter’s board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement”. If the deal were to close now, investors in the company would pocket a profit of $15.22 for each share they own.

Frank exchange

Musk last week met virtually with the social platform’s employees, even though his $44 billion offer has not yet been completed.

“Trust is as trust does. I tend to be extremely literal in what I say...One does not (need) to read between the lines. One can simply read the lines,” Musk said in the meeting, according to a tweet from Nola Weinstein, Twitter’s global head of brand experiences and engagement.

Weinstein did not immediately respond to a message for further comment and she subsequently deleted all her tweets about the meeting. Twitter declined to comment.

Musk, according to multiple news reports, also addressed possible layoffs at the company, saying that, right now, “costs exceed revenue. That’s not a great situation”.

He also touched on growth, saying he’d like to see Twitter reach a billion users — roughly four times its current user base and anonymity, where he earlier created a stir when he said he wants to “verify all humans” on the service.

At the meeting, he clarified that this does not mean he wants to have everyone on Twitter use their real names, like on Facebook, since pseudonyms can allow people to express their political views freely, according to The New York Times.

The meeting is a “clear step in the right direction towards the chances of a deal happening and a smart strategic move as Twitter employees have been left in the dark over the past few months and have many questions during this volatile period of uncertainty,” said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.