The richest person in the world has decided to call off his bid to buy Twitter. Elon Musk first announced his plan to buy the social media platform in April.
The businessman stated that he is trying to drop the bid because of the lack of information Twitter gave him on spam and fake accounts. Twitter still plans to enforce the agreement. This will cause a long-lasting legal battle between both sides.
Earlier this year, Musk had the deal on hold while he waited for the information on the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform. Although he asked for evidence that more than 95 percent of the total users are actual people. Twitter never provided him with proof.
A letter Musk’s lawyers filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that “Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has been rejected for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or usable information.”
Musk believes that 20 percent or more of Twitter users are spam or bot accounts. With Twitter having removed a million spam accounts just yesterday, Musk may be right.
The billionaire also has other reasons to pull back on the deal. Since the stock market has been falling steeply for large tech companies, he may have offered a bit much when he put $44 billion on the table. There are also the possible effects a deal may have on the potential merger with his other companies. Since his interest in Twitter has gone public, Tesla’s share price has dropped significantly.
The businessman stated that he is trying to drop the bid because of the lack of information Twitter gave him on spam and fake accounts. Twitter still plans to enforce the agreement. This will cause a long-lasting legal battle between both sides.
Earlier this year, Musk had the deal on hold while he waited for the information on the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform. Although he asked for evidence that more than 95 percent of the total users are actual people. Twitter never provided him with proof.
A letter Musk’s lawyers filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that “Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has been rejected for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or usable information.”
Musk believes that 20 percent or more of Twitter users are spam or bot accounts. With Twitter having removed a million spam accounts just yesterday, Musk may be right.
The billionaire also has other reasons to pull back on the deal. Since the stock market has been falling steeply for large tech companies, he may have offered a bit much when he put $44 billion on the table. There are also the possible effects a deal may have on the potential merger with his other companies. Since his interest in Twitter has gone public, Tesla’s share price has dropped significantly.