Elon Musk went on to contradict Twitter on Friday, unleashing a lengthy legal battle over his hesitant takeover of the social media platform.
The confidential 164-page filing was filed with the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging that Tesla’s CEO was not contractually obligated to complete the $44 billion buyout deal he signed in April, according to TBEN. The lawsuit was not immediately available to the public, but a transparent version containing sensitive company data and redacted information may be available in the future.
Musk announced plans in April to buy Twitter with an offer of $54.20 a share, but in July he said he was “terminating” the deal. Musk accused the social media company of withholding data on the number of fake bot accounts allegedly present on the platform.
Twitter’s lawsuit to force Musk to complete the agreed-upon deal was filed in mid-July and began with a claim that “Musk is refusing to honor his obligations to Twitter and its shareholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.” .”
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Twitter’s lawsuit against the billionaire claimed: “After putting on a public spectacle to bring Twitter into play and proposing and then signing a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that — unlike any other party subject to is subject to Delaware contract law — free to change your mind, destroy the company, disrupt operations, destroy shareholder value, and walk away.”
A judge in Delaware, where Twitter is incorporated, has since ordered a five-day trial on the case to begin October 17. Twitter, which has urged its shareholders to support Musk’s takeover bid, will vote on the merger on Sept. 13. .
“We are determined to complete the merger at the price and terms agreed with Mr. Musk,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and board chairman Bret Taylor said in a copy of a letter to investors on Tuesday.
Musk got at least 49 tebibytes of internal data that serves as a real-time record of more than 500 million daily tweets since June 19. Musk also said he could launch a competing service if the buyout fails.
“This is one of the biggest concerns target companies have: that a buyer will walk away with detailed knowledge of their ‘secret sauce’ and then use it to compete with them or otherwise undermine them,” said Columbia Law School professor Eric Talley. to The Bharat Express News.
It remains unclear how Twitter’s legal battle against Musk will end.
While Twitter attorney William Savitt called Musk a “devoted enemy,” Musk could triumph — or lose with the whole world watching.
