Kathaleen St. Twitter originally asked for a trial to begin in September and take no more than four days to argue, while Musk’s lawyers have asked for a court date sometime in February or later, and for the court to give both sides weeks to present their affairs. They argued that an expedited trial would prevent the truth about how big a problem Twitter bots are from coming out in a rushed trial. The judge ruled that the case would only take five days to go to trial, a time frame that is much closer to what Twitter was asking for. “This is a big win for Twitter and a big loss for Elon Musk,” said attorney Mitchell Epner of Rottenberg Lipman Rich.
Merge failed
The two sides face off in court over their high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful takeover. In April, Musk offered to buy the social media company for more than $44 billion amid concerns that the company didn’t value free speech the way he would have liked. In the weeks that followed, however, Musk began to have second thoughts. It says it pulled out of the deal because Twitter has failed to provide sufficient information about the number of fake or “spam bot” Twitter accounts and that it has breached its obligations under the deal by firing top executives and laying off a significant number of employees. WATCHES | Elon Musk pulls out of deal with Twitter:
Elon Musk says $44 billion Twitter deal ‘temporarily on hold’
Elon Musk says his planned $44 billion US purchase of Twitter is “temporarily on hold” pending details about spam and fake accounts on the social networking platform, but he “remains committed to the acquisition.” Twitter in turn accuses Musk of being disingenuous from the start and merely showing interest in buying the company as a publicity stunt. “This is an attempted sabotage. He’s doing everything he can to destroy Twitter,” Twitter’s attorney, William Savitt, told the judge. He said Musk is trying to mislead people by talking about bots on Twitter, even though that issue has nothing to do with the deal he signed and is just trying to “market an exit ramp for a deal he doesn’t have.” Musk counters that the bots question and his claims that the company hasn’t commented on them is the central reason why he should be allowed out of the deal. “He wanted to take a lot of testimony and look at a lot of evidence about the number of robot or bot accounts on Twitter, claiming that those facts would be necessary to determine whether or not he should go ahead with the purchase.” Epner said. Musk’s lawyer, Andrew Rossman, says the idea that Musk wants to sabotage the company is “preposterous” because he is the second-largest shareholder, owning more than the company’s board itself. “He has no interest in hurting the company,” Rossman said.
Twitter shares are falling
As part of the original merger agreement, both sides agreed to pay the other a $1 billion fee in the event of an exit, but the two sides are now suing each other for much more than that. Twitter specifically asked the court to quickly rule on the matter, as the uncertainty and turmoil outweighs the company’s stock price. Twitter shares are currently worth less than $40 each — well below Musk’s offer price of more than $54 per share. “The reality is that the delay threatens irreparable harm to the sellers,” the judge said, referring to Twitter. In a statement, the social media company said it was “pleased that the court has agreed to expedite this trial.” Epner says it looks like the case is going Twitter’s way so far, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the end result is that Musk is forced to buy Twitter for the inflated $44 billion or pay the company some other amount in order to not to buy it. “It’s possible Elon Musk could trade a controlling stake in Tesla for full ownership of Twitter, a business he’s said is doomed to never make money,” he said.
