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Elon Musk has axed his bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion, claiming the social media giant has breached the takeover agreement.
It is the latest twist in the future of Twitter, which Musk first said he planned to buy in April, though questions remain as to whether the Tesla boss will face a legal challenge.
Musk said he had backed out because Twitter failed to provide enough information on the number of spam and fake accounts – something Twitter denies.
The original terms of the agreement included a $1 billion break up fee, and Twitter will look to enforce the agreement.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk,” Twitter chairman Bret Taylor wrote in a tweet, setting up a potentially long and protracted legal battle between the two sides.
Musk had already paused the takeover, claiming Twitter had failed to provide evidence around its assertion that fake accounts made up less than 5% of its user base.
Musk’s lawyer filed a letter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing Twitter of failing to provide the necessary information.
“Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information,” the letter reads.
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