To no one's great surprise, narcissistic sociopath and exploding car / rocket man Elon Musk has sent a letter to Twitter threatening to back away from his bid to purchase the social media site for $44 billion. From the Associated Press report:
"Lawyers for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the threat in a letter to Twitter dated Monday. That letter was included in a filing from Twitter with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The letter says Musk has repeatedly asked for the information since May 9, about a month after his offer to buy the company, so he could evaluate how many of the company’s 229 million accounts are fake.
Shares of Twitter Inc. slid more than 3% Monday, likely incensing Twitter shareholders who filed a suit against Musk late last month for deflating the price of the stock. Shares of Twitter are down 23% in the last month." (our emphasis)
The problem for the conniving Musk is that he already waived additional "due diligence" protection at the time of his bid to purchase Twitter. It's all about Musk not having the resources to consummate the deal, so he wants to drive the value of Twitter stock down:
"The Twitter sale agreement allows Musk to get out of the deal if there is a 'material adverse effect' caused by the company. It defines that as a change that negatively affects Twitter’s business or financial conditions.
Last month Musk said that he was unilaterally placed the deal on hold, which experts said he can’t do. If he walks away, he could be on the hook for a $1 billion breakup fee.
Musk’s latest maneuver shows how he is 'looking for a way out of the deal or something that will get leverage for a renegotiation of the price,' said Brian Quinn, a law professor at Boston College. But Quinn said it’s unlikely to hold up in court since he already waived his ability to ask for more due diligence." (our emphasis)
We trust that the courts will rule in favor of Twitter, and that Musk's gamesmanship will cost him that $1 billion "breakup fee," because for Musk, breaking up should be hard to do.
(photo: What's that Musk-y smell? from The Sun)
