The cancellation of the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk last Friday has been strongly felt in the shares of the technology company, which sank 11% this Monday, after falling 5% in the previous session. The operation will now enter a legal battle: the company has announced that it will take the businessman to court. Twitter defends that Musk's attempt to withdraw from the acquisition is "invalid" and has to be completed.
The reason for the break is the number of fake or spam accounts that the platform has, as well as the way to audit and suspend them. Musk asked from the first moment to know what his exact weight is among the universe of network profiles. While Twitter estimated them at 5%, there are calculations that quadrupled it. Musk understands that the company has not given him the information he required and that it is impossible for him to value the purchase.
"The alleged termination of Mr. Musk's contract (...) is invalid and unlawful, and constitutes a repudiation of his obligations under the agreement. Contrary to his assertions, Twitter has not breached any of its obligations under the agreement," it reads. collected in a legal document that Twitter has sent to the stock market regulator.
The result is that investors discount that the operation will not go ahead, or at least has run aground, affecting its activity in the coming quarters. Hence the sales on the stock market and the 11% drop in the company's shares, which are already trading at less than 33 dollars, far from the 54.20 that Musk proposed in his initial offer, with a disbursement of more than 40,000 million of dollars.
Musk and Twitter agreed to a penalty of 1,000 million dollars to be paid by any party that withdraws from the agreement, although if Twitter intends to force the purchase under the agreed terms, things could get complicated for the South African tycoon, according to the aforementioned chain.
