NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 02: Elon Musk attends the 2022 Met Gala celebrating ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)
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Billionaire Elon Musk backed out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Friday, citing continuing disagreements over the number of spam accounts on the platform.
Although Musk wants to end his offer on Twitter, it’s not as simple as walking away, according to legal experts. Instead, Musk is likely facing a protracted battle with Twitter in court that could take several months to resolve.
Twitter’s board is in a very difficult position, said Ann Lipton, professor of corporate governance at Tulane Law School. “They can’t just say, ‘Okay, let’s save ourselves the trouble, Elon, we’ll let you drop the price $20 a share, or we’ll settle, we’ll agree to leave if you only pay the billions of termination fee dollars. I mean, Twitter just isn’t in a position to be able to do that.
This would risk triggering legal action by Twitter shareholders, she added. Twitter shareholders have already filed a lawsuit against the company and Elon Musk himself for this chaotic deal.
Merger deals are “very difficult to pull off,” and so far Musk appears to have provided insufficient evidence to support his claims that Twitter lied about its spam numbers, Lipton said.
Meanwhile, Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor has already promised that the company’s board will take legal action against Musk.
“Twitter’s board of directors is committed to completing the transaction at the price and terms agreed to with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement,” Taylor wrote in a post. tweet.
“We are confident that we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,” Taylor added, referring to a Delaware court that resolves disputes between businesses.
Musk signed a legally binding agreement in April to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share. The agreement states that if either party broke the deal, they would be required to pay a $1 billion breach fee.
Shortly after the deal was struck, Musk began to hint that he had doubts about the deal. In May, Musk said he had decided to put his acquisition of Twitter on hold as he assessed the company’s claims that around 5% of its monetizable daily active users (mDAUs) are spam accounts. Twitter said it continues to share information with Musk, including flipping his “firehose,” the daily stream of tweets that pass through the platform.
In a letter on Friday, Musk’s attorneys accused Twitter of a “material breach of several provisions” of the agreement and claimed the company had made “false and misleading statements” about the prevalence of fake accounts on its platform.
“There’s a lot of reason to doubt he [Twitter] made such misrepresentations, but assuming that’s the case, that’s actually no reason to call off a merger deal,” Lipton said. in an interview.
For there to be a “material breach” of the agreement, Musk would have to prove that Twitter made such egregious misrepresentations that they would have a long-term impact on the company’s earnings potential, Lipton said. .
“He has not yet proven that this is the case,” she added.
Twitter appears to have the upper hand as the deal drama heads to court, Lipton said. The merger agreement includes a “specific performance clause,” which states that Twitter has the right to sue Musk to force him into the deal, as long as he still has the debt financing in place.
In the coming days, Twitter will likely file a lawsuit in Delaware and ask the judge to decide whether it violated the terms of the agreement, then order Musk to “perform his obligations under the contract and complete the merger,” said Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School.
After that, Quinn said he expects both sides to continue making their case in court, in a legal process that could take a year. “For disputes, it’s fast,” he added.
Adam Sterling, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, told CNBC that Twitter has a strong legal case, while Musk’s has less.
“He (Musk) makes a number of legal arguments — I think all of them are of questionable quality,” Sterling said, pointing to Musk’s filing on Friday. “(He) focused primarily on bots on platforms, but also on business performance, so he kind of kicks off all of these arguments.”
Musk and Twitter could also reach an agreement.
Twitter may agree to a minor transaction price change of $54.20 per share to avoid litigation, Lipton said. That may not sit well with Twitter shareholders who liked the first offering. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to the company’s closing price of $39.31 on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his stake of approximately 9 % in the society. Shares of Twitter closed at $30.04 on Friday.
It’s unclear what Musk would agree to, Lipton said.
“I don’t know if Musk just wants to knock a dollar or two off the price per share,” she said. “I think Musk doesn’t want to have the deal or a fairly dramatic upgrade. So I don’t think the parties are close to an agreement at this time.”
Sterling said the Delaware chancery court is “designed to work out issues like this, so it might force Musk to follow through with the deal, but it might get messy in the process.” Twitter seems to have a very strong legal argument, but we haven’t seen a precedent on this scale or an opponent like Elon Musk so there are a lot of questions about what he’s going to do.”
CNBC tech reporter Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.
Does Elon Musk have Twitter?
Since Musk sealed his deal to buy Twitter in April, his comments about how he would tackle the company’s toughest challenges have rattled some employees. To see also : Success of ABA Day 2021 is a blueprint for year-round advocacy.
Does Elon Musk now own Twitter? Billionaire Elon Musk has canceled his deal to buy social media company Twitter, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Skadden Arps attorney Mike Ringler said in a letter to Twitter’s chief legal officer that “Twitter has breached its contractual obligations.”
Did Elon pull out of Twitter?
Elon Musk says he is pulling out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, casting doubt on the social media company’s immediate future. To see also : Rudolph Giuliani sues Smartmatic to recover legal fees on Fox News lawsuit. In a security filing on Friday, Musk accused Twitter of lying about the number of bots and spam accounts on the platform, as well as failing to provide material it requested.
Can I contact Elon Musk directly?
To contact Elon Musk, write a letter addressed to him and send it to Corporate Secretary, Tesla, Inc. 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA. You can also contact Elon Musk on Twitter using his Twitter handle @elonmusk.
Did Elon Musk back out of Twitter deal?
Elon Musk is ending his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, but the company on Friday promised to close the deal, setting the stage for a legal battle that could lead to more turmoil and uncertainty for the network of social media. Read also : Barbados becomes republic, ends British rule – JURIST – News.
Is Elon Musk not buying Twitter?
Elon Musk says he won’t buy Twitter: NPR. Elon Musk Says He Won’t Buy Twitter Tesla’s billionaire CEO has changed his mind about buying Twitter, but it’s not so easy to walk away from the legal deal he signed with the social network.
Why did Elon Musk not buy Twitter?
Elon Musk wants to break his agreement to buy Twitter. In a letter to the company, filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk accuses Twitter of making “false and misleading representations” about the prevalence of fake accounts on its platform.
What was Elon Musk’s tweet about Dogecoin?
However, in April 2019, Musk tweeted “Dogecoin might be my favorite cryptocurrency. That’s pretty cool.” The cryptocurrency grew in popularity as Musk continued to endorse it and publicize it on social media. According to Decrypt, searches for dogecoins increased from 2019 to 2020 around the time Musk tweeted about it.
Is Elon Musk leaving Twitter?
Elon Musk has announced he is backing out of his tumultuous $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, leaving the deal on the brink of collapse. Tesla’s CEO sent a letter to Twitter’s board on Friday saying he was ending the acquisition.
Did Musk cancel Twitter deal?
Elon Musk announced on Friday that he would drop his tumultuous $44 billion bid to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts. Twitter immediately hit back, saying it would sue the Tesla CEO to enforce the deal.
Why did Elon Musk cancel the Twitter deal? Elon Musk announced on Friday that he would drop his tumultuous $44 billion bid to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts.
Did Musk back out of Twitter deal?
Elon Musk is ending his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, but the company on Friday promised to close the deal, setting the stage for a legal battle that could lead to more turmoil and uncertainty for the network of social media.
Has Elon Musk sold all his possessions?
Elon Musk has sold his seven California homes for $128 million after vowing to “own no homes”, according to US media. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, 50, now resides in a small rental home, estimated at $50,000, near his aerospace business in Boca Chica, Texas, after selling his seven properties.
Why Twitter is being sold?
Giving the reason for selling Twitter, Jack said Elon Musk was the only way to achieve Twitter’s goal of being run for the public good. According to him, he trusts Elon’s goal of creating a “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive” platform. His tweets read: “I love Twitter.
Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter? He said: Musk offered to buy Twitter in early April, boosting the company’s value from just under $40 a share to over $50. Although below its recent highs set in 2021, the price Musk agreed to pay for Twitter was a comfortable premium to its trading price at the time.
What’s the big deal with Elon Musk buying Twitter?
Musk’s deal for Twitter is worth around $44 billion. Elon Musk struck a deal on Monday to buy Twitter for around $44 billion, in a victory for the world’s richest man to take over the influential social network frequented by world leaders, celebrities and cultural trendsetters.
Why does Elon Musk not want to buy Twitter?
AILSA CHANG, HOST: Well, turns out Elon Musk says he doesn’t want to buy Twitter after all. The billionaire wrote a letter to the social media company, accusing it of not being candid about the number of fake accounts and spam, or bots, on the platform.
Why does Elon Musk want to buy Twitter?
According to Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, also a director of Parler, Musk told him he “might need to buy Twitter” to protect free speech.
What will Elon Musk do with Twitter?
Musk also said he wanted to make the company’s algorithm, or its computer code, public to promote transparency. That’s easier said than done, experts say. He called for Twitter direct messages, which are private, to be end-to-end encrypted so they are more secure and “so no one can spy on or hack into your messages.”
Is Twitter being sold?
Twitter Inc. executives told employees Thursday that the $44 billion deal to sell the company to billionaire Elon Musk is going according to plan and that they will not renegotiate the agreed price of $54.20 per share.
Did Twitter get sold?
Business mogul Elon Musk has revealed he bought 9.1% of Twitter for $2.64 billion on April 4, 2022.
Who is the owner of Twitter?
Is the Twitter sale going through?
Twitter’s board of directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders approve the company’s proposed $44 billion sale to billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Who decided to sell Twitter?
Find an agreement. Once funding was in place, Twitter’s board met with Mr. Musk to discuss his offer. The two sides quickly reached an agreement, with the social media company agreeing to sell for $54.20 per share.
Did Twitter sell to Musk?
Twitter shares have given up all of their gains since Elon Musk disclosed his 9% stake in the company last month. Musk tweeted on Friday that the deal was on hold until he uncovers more details about the number of fake accounts on the platform.
Who decides to sell Twitter?
Twitter is set to strike a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk, two people with knowledge of the situation have said, a move that would unite the world’s richest man with the influential social networking service. A deal could be announced as early as Monday, the sources said. Twitter’s board was negotiating with Mr.
Why is Twitter being sold?
Musk, the world’s richest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it doesn’t live up to its potential as a platform for free speech. He says it needs to be transformed into a private company to build trust with users and better serve the “societal imperative” of free speech.
Does Elon Musk have TikTok?
Elon Musk (@elon_musk_official) TikTok | Watch Elon Musk’s latest TikTok videos.
Does Elon Musk have a YouTube channel? Elon Musk’s YouTube channel has 48,600 subscribers with 0 videos uploaded so far, overall channel views are 0.
How can I contact Elon Musk?
To contact Elon Musk, write a letter addressed to him and send it to Corporate Secretary, Tesla, Inc. 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA. You can also contact Elon Musk on Twitter using his Twitter handle @elonmusk.
How do I contact SpaceX with an idea?
You can reach their office during the week and on working days at 1 310-363-6000. Email: You can digitally email SpaceX using their email id to send your applications or queries to mailto:[email protected].
What is Elon Musk’s personal email address?
How do I email Elon Musk? Email Elon Musk at Tesla, [email protected] or [email protected].
Did Elon Musk buy Twitter?
Elon Musk Says He Won’t Buy Twitter Tesla’s billionaire CEO has changed his mind about buying Twitter, but it’s not so easy to walk away from the legal deal he signed with the social network.
What is Elon musks Instagram name?
Elon Musk ®ï¸ (@elonrmuskk) Instagram photos and videos.
What is Elon Musk Instagram?
Musk doesn’t have an official Instagram account, but there are several fan pages. The one social media platform the billionaire uses the most is Twitter, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter CEO last year.
Who is musk wife?
What is Elon Musk email address?
How do I email Elon Musk? Email Elon Musk at Tesla, [email protected] or [email protected].
