Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on the 8th (local time) that the deal to acquire Twitter worth 57 trillion won was canceled.
Musk said on the same day that he would close the deal for serious breach of the terms of the deal, The Associated Press and Archyde.com reported.
Lawyers said Twitter declined to provide information that was critical to the company’s business performance, including fake accounts and spam accounts.
Musk’s declaration of termination came two months following the signing of the acquisition agreement.
Prior to this, Musk signed a contract to acquire Twitter at the end of April for $44 billion, or regarding 57.2 trillion won.
However, in mid-May, he took issue with the status of fake accounts on Twitter, and abruptly suspended the contract and even suggested the possibility of termination.
Although Twitter had maintained that fake accounts accounted for less than 5% of all accounts, Musk said he mightn’t believe this and had pressured Twitter to provide evidence.
Twitter shares fell 6% in following-hours trading following news broke the deal.
Twitter responded to Musk’s declaration of termination and announced that it would file a lawsuit to enforce the fulfillment of the acquisition agreement.
Board Chairman Brett Taylor said he is committed to closing the deal at the price and terms agreed with Musk and is confident he will win the lawsuit.
[사진 출처 : AFP=연합뉴스]