Twitter takeover
Musk responds to Twitter lawsuit over takeover dispute
Elon Musk doesn’t want to take over Twitter after all – he has to face a legal battle. photo
© Susan Walsh/AP/dpa
After a lot of excitement about a possible Twitter takeover, Tesla boss Musk does not want the platform after all. The argument about it becomes a legal dispute.
In the legal dispute over the Twitter takeover, tech billionaire Elon Musk has submitted his response to the short message service’s lawsuit. However, the document from Friday is not publicly available for the time being. Musk’s lawyers have a few days under court rules to release a version without confidential details.
Tesla boss Musk announced in April that he wanted to buy Twitter for around $44 billion. The service initially resisted, but shortly thereafter the board of directors of Twitter concluded a takeover agreement with the entrepreneur. Just a few weeks later, however, he declared the deal on hold and backed out in early July. Twitter is seeking a court ruling in the US state of Delaware that will oblige Musk to complete the acquisition at the agreed price of $54.20 per share.
Negotiations in October should bring clarity
Musk justified his withdrawal from the deal by saying that Twitter had misrepresented the number of fake accounts on the platform. The service also breached the contract by not providing sufficient access to check the numbers. According to the “Wall Street Journal”, the legal response submitted on Friday is also based on these allegations.
Twitter said in its lawsuit that Musk’s reference to the fake profiles was just an excuse to get out of the takeover deal after a downturn in stock markets.
The Delaware Chancery Court judge scheduled a five-day hearing in the dispute beginning Oct. 17. Musk’s lawyers wanted to delay the start of the trial until next year, but Twitter was able to convince the judge that a quick decision was needed to provide clarity for the company. The business court can order the completion of a takeover, and many US experts see Musk with his arguments at a disadvantage.