Elon Musk says he’s terminating US$44 billion Twitter deal
- The social media giant’s board will fight to enforce the merger agreement, instead of accepting the US$1 billion break-up fee from the Tesla founder
- Shares of Twitter fell 5 per cent to US$36.81, well below the US$54.20 that Musk had offered to pay
Elon Musk’s tumultuous US$44 billion bid to buy Twitter is on the verge of collapse – after the Tesla CEO sent a letter to Twitter’s board on Friday saying he is terminating the acquisition.
The chair of Twitter’s board, Bret Taylor, tweeted on Friday that the board is “committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Twitter could have pushed for a US$1 billion break-up fee Musk agreed to pay under these circumstances. Instead, it looks ready to fight over the deal, which the company’s board has approved and CEO Parag Agrawal has insisted he wants to consummate.
The possible unravelling of the deal is just the latest twist in a saga between the world’s richest man and one of the most influential social media platforms. Much of the drama has played out on Twitter, with Musk – who has more than 100 million followers – lamenting that the company was failing to live up to its potential as a platform for free speech.
On Friday, shares of Twitter fell 5 per cent to US$36.81, well below the US$54.20 that Musk had offered to pay. Shares of Tesla, meanwhile, climbed 2.5 per cent to US$752.29.
