Twitter message to Elon Musk after his attempt to rescue his $ 44 billion purchase agreement from the company: See you in court.
“The Twitter Board agrees to close the transaction on the price and terms agreed with Mr. Musk and plans to take legal action to enforce the merger agreement,” tweeted Twitter President Bret Taylor, less an hour after Musk’s legal team said. he wanted to get out of the deal in a presentation to the Stock Exchange and Securities Commission. “We are confident that we will prevail in the Delaware Chancellery Court.”
If you’ve been following the twists and turns of this deal, it’s no wonder Twitter plans to fight back. Shortly after Musk said he would buy Twitter and take it privately, he began laying the groundwork for why it could be withdrawn, alleging that Twitter was not reporting the number of bots on the platform. Twitter has insisted to Musk and the public that he has robots under control and that he intends to enforce the merger agreement.
When Musk and Twitter first signed the deal, both parties agreed to pay a $ 1 billion cancellation fee in case anyone withdrew for specific reasons. Musk agreed to pay the fee if he is unable to secure the funding he needs to complete the acquisition, which he has so far failed to do. And Twitter agreed to pay the fee if it found another buyer or its board recommended that shareholders vote against Musk’s offer.
Since Musk claims that Twitter breached the terms of the deal by failing to communicate critical business information regarding the robots, it is clear that it is trying to get out without paying anything. The severance fee is not mentioned in Friday’s SEC filing describing his justification for withdrawing from the deal.
With Twitter saying it will fight for Musk to pay, this already crazy deal could soon turn into a long, messy legal battle. Stuck.