It hasn't been long since billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his intentions to acquire Twitter. A lot has happened since then, with the deal being put on hold and Twitter accusing Musk of breaking a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). But things seem to be steadying now, as the Twitter board has formally asked the company's shareholders to approve Musk's $44 billion bid.

The board "unanimously recommends" that shareholders "vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement," according to a document filed through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The board is also asking Twitter shareholders to okay any financial benefits the company would have to pay its executives following the merger.

The SEC documentation reveals a provision to hold off or postpone special meetings "if necessary" to seek proxies if or when there are insufficient votes to facilitate the merger. This is fairly boilerplate as far as board recommendations to shareholders go.

It's worth noting that Twitter share prices have taken a tumble from Musk's initial offer price of $54.20, down to $39.06 as of publication. To make matters worse, Twitter's market cap has fallen well below $30 billion, as TechCrunch points out.

Although Musk had some concerns over the number of bots on the platform, Twitter granted him a detailed look into its infrastructure, including information on the percentage of spambots. In recent comments at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk told attendees that some "unresolved matters" still hang over the bid, raising questions about debt and wondering if shareholders would ultimately give their approval.

While the Twitter board's recommendation will likely put Musk at ease, shareholders won't vote on the matter until at least early August. There are a few issues to iron out in the meantime, such as determining just how much of Twitter is really bots, which Musk classified as a "significant matter." It's clear this won't be the last we've heard on the issue — certainly not until after August's shareholder vote, anyway.