Elon Musk tweeted early Friday that his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter was temporarily on hold as he examined the number of spam accounts on the site, sending the company’s stock down sharply.
“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” he tweeted, linking to a Reuters article from last week citing a Twitter filing.
Roughly two hours later, he added: “Still committed to acquisition.”
It was not immediately clear how the Tesla CEO would pause the deal or how serious the threat was. Musk is prone to brash statements on Twitter, something that has drawn scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The terms of the deal require a $1 billion breakup fee.
Before the tweet, Musk already was seeking additional investors for the purchase as a market downturn puts pressure on his financing.
Tesla has lost $400 billion in market value since Musk’s interest in Twitter became public in early April, driving a wedge in his acquisition plans at a time when he has committed $21 billion of his wealth to finance the purchase. Musk had planned to buy Twitter with a combination of loans and equity commitments, leveraging into the deal much of his stake in the world’s most valuable automaker — from which he derives most of his wealth.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Walmart Withdraws and Refiles Antitrust Review Application for Vizio Acquisition
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Apple Prevails in Dismissal of Crypto-Payment Antitrust Lawsuit
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Amazon Fined in Poland for Misleading Customers
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Credit Card Rewards Under Threat as Visa, Mastercard Settlement Impacts Swipe Fees
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
UK Fashion Giants Commit to Honest Environmental Claims
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Real Estate & Antitrust
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Systematic National Evidence of Steering by Real Estate Agents
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Compliance Now! Actionable Antitrust Advice for the Residential Real Estate Industry
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Real Estate Commissions: Some Insights from the Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
New Ideas for Promoting Real Estate Brokerage Price Competition
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI