After announcing the takeover bid, Musk and his team requested data regarding the spam accounts on the platform.
Ongoing negotiations with Twitter by Elon Musk and his team may have hit a rock, according to Washington Post. While Twitter has often claimed that less than 5% of its accounts are bots or spams, Musk’s team concluded the bots’ data is unverifiable.
Musk surprised the world after he announced his takeover bid in April. He unveiled its plans to take the social media giant private and reduce content moderation. However, negotiations have cooled off, and the $44 billion deal may be on the verge of collapse.
What Went Wrong with the Twitter Deal
After announcing the takeover bid, Musk and his team requested data regarding the spam accounts on the platform. The team claimed it needed adequate ‘information to evaluate Twitter’s prospect as a business’. While Twitter was initially reluctant to cooperate, the Twitter team eventually handed over a trove of data.
Despite the data, Elon Musk’s team believes the figures are still not verifiable. While Elon Musk has been pushing the issue with the spam accounts as the reason the deal could fall through, that may not be all.
The fall in tech stocks has seen Elon Musk’s net worth take a significant hit in recent months. More so, the falling Twitter stock may mean that Musk will be overpaying, except if a renegotiation happens.
Meanwhile, Twitter has affirmed its commitment to seeing the deal through. According to a statement in June, “Twitter has and will continue to cooperatively share information with Mr. Musk to consummate the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement.”
Stalling May Help Elon Musk
No matter what, Elon Musk cannot just walk away from the deal – not without something major happening to Twitter. Legal experts believe the bot issue will not suffice. Even at that, Musk would still need to pay a severance fee of $1 billion to walk away from the deal.
While it may be impossible for Elon Musk to pull out of the deal in its entirety, he can force a renegotiation by stalling. By focusing on the issue with the bots and the falling Twitter stocks, Musk may be able to negotiate a lower deal.
Whether or not the deal happens, Musk’s takeover bid will not leave Twitter the same.
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