Elon Musk countersues Twitter over $44 billion bid

Photo: Anadolu Agency
Photo: Anadolu Agency

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, filed a countersuit against Twitter on Friday, citing Musk's decision to drop his $44 billion acquisition bid.

The 164-page document was sealed after the judge-mandated filing deadline. Thus the substance of the counterclaim cannot be accessed through public sources.

Musk stated in a companion filing, "I have reviewed the counterclaims and declare that the information contained therein as it relates to my acts and deeds is true, and as it relates to the acts and deeds of any other person, I believe it to be true."

In April, Musk agreed to purchase Twitter for $54.20 per share in an unsolicited deal.

However, the billionaire said in July that he was withdrawing from the agreement, arguing that Twitter misrepresented user data and that the number of spam bots on the platform is significantly larger than the business disclosed.

Twitter refuted these assertions, noting that the number of bots was significantly less than 5 percent of all daily active users.

During a preliminary hearing last week, Delaware Court of Chancery judge Katharine McCormick granted Twitter's request for an expedited trial; the five-day court battle is scheduled to begin on October 17.

Musk's attorneys first urged that the trial not begin before February, citing the need for additional time to investigate bogus accounts on Twitter's web platform.

McCormick stated, "The longer the merger transaction remains in limbo, the greater the cloud of uncertainty cast over the company."

A redacted version of Musk's countersuit may soon be made public per court regulations.

Friday's closing bell on Wall Street marked a 0.7% decline in Twitter's stock price to $41.32.

Publish : 2022-07-30 09:44:00

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