On Friday, billionaire Elon Musk indicated that he planned to back out of his deal to buy Twitter, citing three specific reasons.
The two main reasons have to do with the number of bots and spam accounts on the social media platform. Musk claims that Twitter won’t give him the data that he’s requesting and the company has misrepresented the number of bots on the site. He also claims that he was supposed to be consulted before Twitter laid off a number of executive employees, which Twitter did back in June.
Shortly after, Twitter board chair Bret Taylor tweeted that Twitter plans to pursue legal action to force the Tesla CEO with going through with the sale. On Monday, it seems they are trying to make good on their word in a new SEC filing reported by Deadline.
Twitter Criticizes Elon Musk And His ‘Invalid and Wrongful’ Attempt To Back Out Of $44 Billion Dollar Deal
The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) July 8, 2022
On Friday, Twitter board chair Bret Taylor tweeted, “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
After the close of today’s trading, Twitter said that Elon Musk trying to back out of the deal was “invalid and wrongful” in Monday’s SEC filing.
William Savitt of the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz said that Twitter has followed through with all of the terms of the agreement, despite Musk claiming otherwise.
Twitter said that Musk’s attempted termination of the deal is “invalid and wrongful, and it constitutes a repudiation of their obligations under the agreement,” Savitt wrote, adding, “Twitter has breached none of its obligations under the agreement.” He added that Musk and his partners “have knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and materially breached the agreement.”
Savitt insisted the deal was still on, citing bank debt and equity commitments. “Twitter demands that Mr. Musk and the other Musk parties comply with their obligations under the agreement,” he wrote, adding that Twitter will still provide information that Musk requests about the numbers of bot and spam accounts.
Back in April, the SpaceX founder agreed to purchase the social media giant for $54.20 a share. On Monday, Twitter shares dropped 11% in the wake of this most recent drama and closed at $32.65, far below what Musk had originally agreed to pay a few months ago.
Elon Musk Makes A Meme Out Of Legal Battle: ‘Now They Want To Force Me To Buy Twitter In Court’
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022
Early Monday morning, Elon Musk took to the site to give his first comment on the upcoming legal battle. Musk posted four panels that show his face laughing harder beside each block of text.
The first reads, “They said I couldn’t buy Twitter.” The second reads, “Then they wouldn’t disclose bot info.” The third reads, “Now they want to force me to buy Twitter in court.” The fourth reads, “Now they have to disclose bot info in court.”
Chuckmate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022
He also tweeted a photo of Chuck Norris playing chess with the word, “Chuckmate.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022
Later in the day, he tweeted a picture of a valkyrie, a figure from Norse mythology that guides the souls of deceased warriors. He put up the picture without a caption shortly after Monday’s filing went public.
For improved quality of sleep, raise head of your bed by about 3” or 5cm and don’t eat 3 hours before bedtime
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022
In what seems like a potentially unrelated tweet, Musk added, “For improved quality of sleep, raise [the] head of your bed by about 3” or 5cm and don’t eat 3 hours before bedtime.”
Although legal analysts predict that the matter is going to be settled out of court, it seems Musk is looking to get plenty of rest before his upcoming legal battle!
