Elon Musk Threatens to Leave Twitter Deal –

Detroit (AP) – Elon Musk has threatened to avoid a $ 44 billion bid to buy Twitter and accuses the company of denying him information about him. Spam bots and fake accounts.

Lawyers for the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX posted the threat on Twitter in a letter dated Monday, and Twitter announced it by filing it with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

The letter says Musk has repeatedly requested information since May 9, about a month after the acquisition company offered, to assess how many of the company’s 229 million accounts were forged.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Twitter continues to estimate that less than 5% of its accounts are fake. But Musk questioned this, telling Twitter in May that it was 20% or more wrong.

Twitter Inc. shares fell 3%. on Monday, likely angered by Twitter shareholders who filed a lawsuit against Musk late last month. Share price deflation. Twitter shares have fallen 23% in the past month.

Twitter said in a statement Monday that it “has and will continue to share information with Musk to complete the transaction under the terms of the merger agreement.”

“We are closing the deal and will execute the merger deal at the agreed price and terms,” he added.

Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $ 54.20 in April. Musk’s many actions since then, including a public dispute with the Twitter CEO over fake accounts – on Twitter, have prompted some scholars to wonder if the billionaire wants to make a deal, or even cut his offer.

Musk’s lawyers wrote in the letter Twitter offered to provide only details on the company’s trial procedures. But they argue that this is “equivalent to denying Mr. Musk’s request for data” and constitutes a “material breach” of the incorporation agreement, allowing Musk to cancel the agreement if he wishes.

“This is a clear violation of Twitter’s obligations under the merger agreement and Mr Musk reserves all rights arising therefrom, including the right not to terminate the transaction and terminate the merger agreement,” the letter.

Musk wants to get basic data on his own verification, which he says is a poor technique for Twitter.

The Twitter sale deal allows Musk to withdraw from the deal if there is a “material adverse effect” caused by the company. This is defined as a change that negatively affects the economic or financial condition of Twitter. Twitter has always said it is pursuing the deal, even though it has no plans to vote for shareholders.

Musk said last month that he unilaterally suspended the transaction, which experts said he could not do. If he leaves, he could face $ 1 billion in break-up fees.

Musk’s latest scheme shows how he’s “looking for a way out of a deal or something that gives him leverage to re-negotiate the price,” said Brian Quinn, a law professor at Boston College . But Quinn said she probably won’t be charged because she has already given up on her ability to demand more diligence.

“I doubt he was allowed to leave,” Quinn said. “At some point, the Twitter board will get tired of it and take the case,” he asked the judge to force Musk to stay with the deal.

Twitter has been disclosing its bot ratings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for years, but also warns that its ratings may be too low.

“If Twitter is convinced of the spam ratings, Mr. Musk does not understand the company’s reluctance to let Musk independently rate these ratings,” Musk said in a statement, adding that he agreed. he agreed not to disclose or archive the data. .

The bot problem for Musk, one of Twitter’s most active popular users, is a long-standing configuration whose name and resemblance often come from fake accounts promoting cryptocurrency fraud. Musk seems to think that such bots are a problem for most other Twitter users, as well as advertisers who get ads on the platform depending on how much they want to reach the real person.

A letter signed by Musk’s attorney Mike Ringler, which he copied to other attorneys, points to a letter dated June 1 in a Twitter brawl in which the company said it only wanted to provide information about at the closing of the sale. Twitter is said to be obligated to provide data for any reasonable business purpose necessary to complete the transaction.

Twitter is also expected to partner with Musk’s efforts to secure funding for the deal, including providing information that was a “reasonable request” from Musk, according to the letter.

The letter states that Musk is not required to explain the reason for the data request or submit “new conditions the company has tried to impose” on the right to receive the numbers.

He claims Musk has the right to receive information on Twitter’s core business model to prepare him for the transfer of ownership.

Reports by Matt O’Brien from Providence, Rhode Island.