TWITTER is talking tough with Elon Musk as the billionaire has second thoughts about his $44billion takeover bid.
The firm has declared it’ll “enforce the merger agreement” – the sort of strong words that could be seen as a threat of legal action if he tries to wriggle out.
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It comes as the Tesla founder, 50, revealed that the deal was “on hold” over concerns about the true number of fake accounts on the social network.
He’s demanded proof of Twitter’s claim that less than 5 per cent of users are bots.
Until then, the richest man in the world says the buyout “cannot move forward”.
The latest twist in the takeover tale is seen as a tactic to acquire the company at a discounted price – or walkaway altogether.
If he decides to give up, he’ll have to pay a $1billion “breakup fee”.
Twitter said: “The Board and Mr. Musk agreed to a transaction at $54.20 per share.
“We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders.
“We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement.”
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Tensions have been escalating in recent weeks, with Musk even tweeting the poop emoji in reaction to CEO Parag Agrawal, who defended the firm’s bot number count.
Agrawal explained how Twitter tries to tackles bots and has to “lock” millions of accounts.
Musk, meanwhile, believes they are higher than Twitter’s official figures indicate.
At a Miami technology conference on Monday, he estimated that at least 20 per cent of Twitter’s 229 million accounts are spambots.
Also at the All In Summit, the billionaire gave the strongest hint yet that he wishes to pay less for Twitter than his $44billion offer made last month.
He said a viable deal at a lower price would not be out of the question.
His outbursts lead analysts to believe that Musk either wants out of the deal or is trying to get a lower price.
His change in heart is thought to have been driven by a huge decline in the value of Tesla stock, some of which he has pledged to finance the Twitter acquisition.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
