Parag Agrawal, Twitter ’s chief executive, urged staffers to steer clear of distracting speculation after the company sued Elon Musk in Delaware Chancery Court. “We took this opportunity to tell our story and defend our company, our people, and our stockholders. We plan to hold the buyer fully accountable to fulfill his contractual obligations,” he said in a memo.
Twitter filed the suit after Musk unilaterally terminated an agreement from April to buy Twitter for $44 billion, or $54. 20 a share. The social media platform also asked for an expedited trial in September as “it is critically important for this matter to be resolved quickly” but told employees that it can’t predict the duration of the process.
Related Story Twitter Shares Jump, Investors See “Clear Upper Hand” In Court Against Elon Musk At this point, the next step in the process will be for the court to set a schedule for the case. Twitter shareholders still need to approve the deal although no date has been set yet for a vote. Twitter will report quarterly earnings July 22.
Twitter’s stock rose today amid a growing consensus that it has a strong case against Musk and could win billions in damages or a settlement even if the merger ends up scuttled. But uncertainty hanging over the company is no good for morale or business. It’s been a surreal process, with Musk starting to bash Twitter within weeks of agreeing to buy it.
The company said that in late June it sent Musk a formal request for consent to two employee retention programs but “Musk has not provided his consent to implement these programs. ” “Our attrition is slightly higher than best practice for normal macroeconomic times, but remains in line with current industry trends,” it added. Sean Edgett, the company’s General Counsel asked staff to “ refrain from sharing any commentary about the acquisition on Twitter or Slack.
” The memo and other comments were noted in SEC filings this afternoon. Agrawal’s email: Team, I know this process has been challenging for all of you, and I continue to be deeply grateful for your passion, agility, and commitment to Twitter. I encourage you to take time to read what we filed.
We took this opportunity to tell our story and defend our company, our people, and our stockholders. We plan to hold the buyer fully accountable to fulfill his contractual obligations. We will prove our position in court and we believe we will prevail.
The coming weeks will be filled with news and noise about this case, with increased analyst and reporter speculation about what may unfold. Some of the coverage will be helpful to explain this complicated process, but a lot of the speculation will be distracting. It is important to remember that we have collectively built a company that has navigated through adversity, disruption, and challenges throughout our 16 year history.
Along with this litigation, the current environment – macroeconomic, geopolitical, societal – presents additional complexities and challenges for us and our industry. But with each challenge, we have persevered. How? Through our purpose, our focus on our customers, and above all else, our resilience.
The work all of us do, as individuals and as #OneTeam, impacts people’s lives and comes with deep responsibility and meaning. Twitter is not built by the leadership team or an owner, it is built by all of you – and together, we all define the future of Twitter. What unites us is our care for our customers, this company, and each other.
Our resilience, collectively, will carry us forward. I am grateful to be working alongside all of you. Parag.
From: deadline
URL: https://deadline.com/2022/07/twitter-ceo-parag-agrawal-elon-musk-lawsuit-1235063707/
