Twitter Sues Elon Musk For Trying To Cancel Acquisition Deal

Breaking Business Twitter Sues Elon Musk For Trying To Cancel Acquisition Deal Joe Walsh Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes. New! Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! Jul 12, 2022, 05:30pm EDT | Updated Jul 12, 2022, 06:37pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Twitter filed a lawsuit Tuesday against billionaire Elon Musk, asking a Delaware judge to order Musk to move forward with his agreement to buy the social media platform, a move that follows weeks of sniping between Twitter and the world’s richest man.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured at the start of production at Tesla’s “Gigafactory” in Germany on . . .

[+] March 22. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Key Facts The suit takes aim at Musk for trying to cancel his $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter last week, accusing the billionaire of backing out of the agreement because his personal wealth has fallen—not because he’s worried about the prevalence of fake accounts, as he has argued. Twitter accused Musk of leading a “fishing expedition” in an attempt to get out of the deal, requesting troves of sensitive data to back up Twitter’s public statements about the number of spam accounts, even though minor inaccuracies wouldn’t be grounds to terminate the deal unless they threatened a “material adverse event,” the company argued.

The company pushed back on Musk for claiming it hasn’t handed over enough information on spam accounts, arguing it tried to cooperate with Musk’s “increasingly invasive and unreasonable requests,” including by offering some information it wasn’t contractually required to give up. Twitter also accused Musk of violating the deal’s non-disparagement section by publicly criticizing the company and encouraging the Securities and Exchange Commission to open an investigation into it. Twitter’s attorneys are seeking “specific performance,” meaning they’d like Delaware’s Court of Chancery to force Musk to close the deal on the agreed-upon terms.

Forbes has reached out to Musk for comment. Crucial Quote Twitter’s legal complaint says Musk “refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests. ” Contra Musk has largely laughed off Twitter’s threats of legal action.

On Monday, he tweeted out a meme claiming a lawsuit would force Twitter to disclose information about bot accounts. Key Background Tuesday’s lawsuit brings months of often-chaotic engagement between Musk and Twitter to a dramatic crescendo. Musk—a prolific Twitter user and frequent critic of the company’s moderation practices—bought 9.

2% of Twitter shares earlier this year and accepted a seat on the company’s board, before later offering to buy the entire company for $54. 20 per share. After some legal wrangling over the risk of a hostile takeover attempt, Twitter’s board accepted Musk’s offer in April, which he indicated he’d finance through a combination of cash, debt and outside investors.

But less than three weeks later, the billionaire announced the deal was “temporarily on hold,” and asked Twitter to hand over evidence to support its long-running estimate that spam and fake accounts make up fewer than 5% of users. Twitter agreed to give Musk’s team access to data, but in a Friday regulatory filing, Musk claimed the company had not offered up enough details and tried to terminate the deal, suggesting Twitter had provided false or misleading information about the number of fake accounts on its social network. Twitter immediately vowed to take legal action against Musk, setting the stage for a high-profile court battle that could end with the billionaire being ordered to purchase a company he no longer wants to buy.

Big Number $225. 2 billion. That’s Musk’s net worth, according to Forbes ’ estimates .

While Musk—who serves as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX—is still the wealthiest person on Earth by a comfortable margin, his net worth has fallen in recent months , largely due to a decline in Tesla’s share price. Follow me on Twitter . Send me a secure tip .

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