The Washington Post, citing its sources, said a potential deal to buy Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk for Twitter is under threat.
Informed sources told the newspaper that in recent weeks, Musk’s team has pulled out of some discussions about financing the deal, valued at $44 billion, as it began questioning Twitter data on the number of fake accounts.
Musk’s aides believe the company’s management is reluctant to reveal the real numbers, sources said, leaving Musk and his team with insufficient information to assess the commercial value of the deal.
One of the sources said that there could be a change in the position of the Musk team, but did not say what exactly would change.
In addition, Twitter’s share price has recently declined, which could affect Musk’s stance on the deal.
But legal experts note that it will not be easy for Elon Musk to refuse the deal. And if he decides to do so, there will most likely be lawsuits, and under existing agreements, Musk will have to pay one billion dollars if the deal does not go through.
It is noteworthy that the cancellation of the transaction is possible under the original agreement, in the event of “big problems” with Twitter and its business, but the problem of fake accounts may not be enough to activate this condition of the agreement.
Musk’s representatives did not comment on this information. As for the Twitter spokesman, he only recalled the company’s earlier statement that it “continues to provide information to Mr. Musk to reach a process in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement.”
It is noteworthy that Elon Musk submitted an offer to buy Twitter in April last year. In May, the businessman announced that he was looking for information confirming that the percentage of fake accounts does not exceed 5% of the total number of accounts.
Source: Washington Post.
