Elon Musk Files Countersuit Against Twitter Over $44 Billion Deal

 

Elon Musk filed a countersuit against Twitter over a $44 billion deal on Friday. The lawsuit was filed confidentially and the 164-page document was not publicly available.

Reportedly, the document could soon be made public. Musk's lawsuit was filed hours after Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered a five-day trial beginning October 17 to determine whether Musk can be forced to complete his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. Musk initially sought a February trial, but, on Tuesday, a judge ruled that the trial was to start in three months.

According to various sources and media reports, Musk, the world’s richest man, backed away from the deal because the stocks of Twitter tumbled, and the value had fallen below the $54.20 per share he offered. Earlier, Musk had made a hostile bid to take over Twitter for a $44 billion deal, which means Musk agreed to acquire the social media giant for $54.20 a share. He also blamed Twitter for breaching the agreement by misrepresenting the number of fake accounts on Twitter. Subsequently, Twitter sued Musk, calling the fake account claims a distraction and saying Musk was bound by the merger contract to close the deal at $54.20 per share.

Musk accused Twitter this week of dragging its feet in response to his discovery requests, and Twitter accused Musk of seeking huge amounts of data for the deal. Twitter further argued that delay damages its business. Twitter said that after pausing the deal in May, Musk's lawyers announced in July that he was "terminating" the deal.

Earlier, Musk’s lawyer said to the Delaware Chancery Court that Twitter's "unjustifiable request" to rush the merger case must be rejected. However, the judge ruled against Musk's push for a February date for the hearing.