Elon Musk’s agreement to buy Twitter is in jeopardy, three people familiar with the matter say, as Musk’s camp concludes that Twitter statistics on spam accounts are uncertain.
Musk’s team has stopped engaging in certain negotiations over $ 44 billion in funding, including a group named as a possible supporter, said one person. People have spoken out on the issue of non-disclosure due to the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions.
Negotiations with investors have cooled in recent weeks as Musk’s camp has raised doubts about the latest “fire pipe” data – a database of corporate clients – which they found on Twitter. Musk’s team’s skepticism about spam statistics shows that they believe they do not have enough information to test Twitter’s prospects as a business, people say.
Now that Musk’s team has concluded that it will not be able to verify Twitter statistics on spam accounts, one person said, drastic measures are expected. The man said there was a possibility of a change coming from Musk’s party soon, although they did not say exactly what they thought the change would be.
Spam accounts are not the only reason Musk tried to get out of the deal. The share price of Twitter shares has plummeted since he applied for the reins in April, which has led to a seemingly substantial payment. And Musk runs two other major companies, Tesla and SpaceX, with some startups.
But the terms of the agreement mean that it would not be easy for Musk to leave. Musk agreed to end it without something major happening on Twitter, and legal experts are skeptical that the bot issue will be resolved. Twitter, which began to fight Musk’s bid to take over, will be a weaker company if the deal breaks up than when Musk first bought the pole, and experts expect Twitter to fight for it. Twitter itself has said it intends to end the deal. Even if Musk persuaded the judge to let him go, he could still be held liable for the $ 1 billion split.
Twitter spokesman Brian Poliakoff declined to comment, but referred to a statement made by the company in June.
“Twitter has and will continue to share information with Mr. Musk in order to end the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement,” Twitter said in a June statement. “We believe this agreement is for the benefit of all shareholders. We intend to close the deal and apply the consolidation agreement at the agreed price. ”
Musk rocked the media world earlier this year with his unprecedented promise to keep the company a secret, saying he would be able to grow Twitter and make it more open and, in his mind, politically neutral. He said he would allow former president Donald Trump to return to the service and said its content rating practices violate free speech. Musk relinquished his right to look into the company’s finances when signing the agreement.