[디지털투데이 황치규 기자]Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter has come to a standstill.
Elon Musk has officially announced that it will cancel the takeover on the grounds that Twitter has violated its contract.
According to foreign media such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Exios on the 8th (local time), Elon Musk made this statement in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the grounds that Twitter did not meet the contractual obligations.
In a letter to the SEC, Elon Musk alleges that “Twitter made false and misleading statements when signing the contract in grave breach of several contract terms.”
After signing the Twitter acquisition, Musk demanded access to relevant data, saying Twitter appears to be counting fewer bot accounts than it actually does. Meanwhile, Twitter has provided Musk with some data as well as maintained its intention to close the merger at the agreed price and terms.
Twitter has reiterated in recent weeks that it is sharing information with Elon Musk as suggested in the merger agreement to complete the deal, the WSJ reported.
In a letter filed with the SEC, Musk argued that Twitter’s decision to fire two senior executives, like certain employee layoffs and employment freezes, violated the merger agreement.
Elon Musk signed a deal with Twitter at the end of April, agreeing to pay $1 billion if he steps out in the middle. However, we have decided to make an exception for critically negative consequences, Elon Musk asserts, that the items mentioned in the letter are exceptions. That’s why he claims there’s nothing lit up on Twitter, Axios said.
Elon Musk’s move is likely to lead to a large-scale legal dispute with Twitter.
According to Axios, Twitter has made it clear that it intends to file a lawsuit to allow the transaction to proceed under the terms of the merger.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the deal at the price and terms agreed with Musk and will take legal action to enforce the merger agreement,” said Brett Taylor, Twitter’s Board Chairman.