Multi-billionaire Elon Musk, who owns Tesla and SpaceX, has announced he is withdrawing his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter.
In court papers filed Friday, Musk accused Twitter of “false and misleading” information about the number of bots, fake and spam accounts on the social media platform, and said Twitter was “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the sale agreement.
Twitter chair Bret Taylor has responded with a vow to see Musk in court, saying the board is “committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon… We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Twitter’s attempt to force Musk to go through with the purchase is a dramatic turnabout from its initial effort to avoid a takeover by the billionaire.
The current agreement includes a one billion dollar “reverse termination fee” that Musk may have to pay.
Twitter shares fell nearly five percent in after-hours trading in response to the news.
