Twitter is suing tech billionaire Elon Musk in court to implement the agreed acquisition of the online service. As announced, the online service has filed a lawsuit in the state of Delaware, board chairman Bret Taylor announced on Tuesday. The competent court may order the realization of a takeover. Twitter also expressly demands this in the 60-page lawsuit published by US media.
Musk announced Friday that he is withdrawing from the deal to buy Twitter for about $44 billion. To justify this, he referred to his previously unsubstantiated claims that there were significantly more fake accounts on Twitter than the company’s estimate of less than five percent. His lawyers argued, among other things, that Twitter has breached its contractual obligation to give Musk the necessary data access to verify the figures. Twitter rejected this, calling Musk’s withdrawal “void and illegal”.
Lawyers: ‘Musk wants to harm Twitter’
A day later, Twitter’s lawyers in the lawsuit added: Musk likely believes he can simply pull out of a signed contract, denigrate the company, mess up his business and destroy shareholder values. Musk’s conduct confirms that he intends to step out of the binding contract he has signed and damage Twitter in the process,” the document said.
Twitter attributes Musk’s actions to the stock market downturn, which has caused both Twitter’s value and Musk’s fortunes to shrunk. However, the purchase agreement states that such a development is a risk for Musk and not a reason for an exit. In the lawsuit, Twitter describes the challenge of making estimates of the number of fake accounts and the demand for more data as an attempt to create a pretext to end the deal. Musk admitted he hadn’t read a comprehensive explanation from Twitter about the estimation method. Musk’s wordless tweet featuring a poo emoji in response to public statements by Twitter boss Parag Agrawal also landed in the lawsuit.
Twitter asks for a quick check
The company requested an expedited review of the case. US experts see Twitter in a better legal position than Musk, but at the same time question whether it would eventually be possible to force him to take the helm if he didn’t want to.
Musk planned to buy Twitter himself in the spring. He repeatedly emphasized that it was not about money for him, but more about strengthening freedom of expression on stage. Musk said he would let former US President Donald Trump, who had been banned from Twitter, back on the platform.
The online service’s board of directors initially blocked Musk’s offer of $54.20 a share, but then accepted it. Shareholders must then vote in the coming months to sell their stake to Musk. Musk’s price would be a good deal for many of them: The stock closed at a good $34 on Tuesday after gaining more than four percent.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
