Twitter sues Elon Musk for dumping $44 billion deal. His reaction? Oh the irony!
Twitter sues Elon Musk for backing out of buyout deal. Photo: Getty Images
Elon Musk is a strange man. Like all billionaires, some might say. Musk, however, might have taken the cake this time around, as far the Twitter deal is concerned. He promised $44 billion to Twitter. Then he said nope, not happening. Twitter sued him. Now, his reaction is just three words (or a meme, on even days): Oh the irony!
What does the Twitter lawsuit say: Breach of Contract. On July13, 2022, Twitter sued Elon Musk for walking out of the sky high $44 billion deal. Delaware Chancery Court will be hearing the case.
A timeline:
April 25, 2022: Elon Musk and Twitter finalise $44 billion buyout deal.
June 2022: Musk asks for bot data, Twitter complies with it, Musk wants more.
July 8, 2022: Elon Musk says Twitter deal is off.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022
July 13, 2022: Twitter sues Musk.
What does Twitter want? That Elon Musk stays true to his contract, and completes the buyout on the terms and price as agreed upon. Musk had agreed to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share.
What is Twitter accusing Elon Musk of?
- "Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, [Mr] Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," the lawsuit said.
- Twitter claimed that Musk walked out of the deal as it no longer served his personal interests.
- Twitter also said that Tesla shares fell after Musk agreed to the deal. The lawsuit said that Tesla - the company contributing the highest to Musk's personal wealth - also lost $100 billion in worth since November 2021 peak and that's why Musk wants to break the deal.
Elon Musk's reaction: "lol"
Oh the irony lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
Now what?
- The court may side with Twitter and force Musk to go ahead with the deal.
- The court may side with Musk and Twitter may bear the losses.
- Twitter and Elon Musk can reach an out-of-court settlement.
- Elon Musk may pay Twitter compensation and not buy the company. The original deal included a $1 billion breakup fee.
- Elon Musk and Twitter may agree to new price terms for the deal. Twitter's shares fell over 8% in the last month itself. Its current valuation is less than the time when Musk struck the deal. Hence, according to the old deal, Musk will be paying more than the company's value.
- Twitter may be forced to reveal "bot" data.
While you and I are wondering no end why Musk doesn't want to buy Twitter, here's the thing: remember what we said about billionaires being strange? 