Elon Musk is attempting to terminate his $44bn takeover of Twitter.
It's a move that probably won't have shocked anyone — Musk is once again citing Twitter's inability to provide him with details that dispel his concerns over fake users — but it was still enough to send Twitter's shares down another 11% yesterday.
That leaves us in the strangest of all timelines in which Twitter can sue Musk to try and force through a deal that he now doesn't want — and that Twitter management initially resisted themselves.
Many experts seem to believe that legally Musk is very likely on the hook for either $44bn (buying the whole pie) or $1bn (the breakup fee that was agreed), as his legal team are unlikely to be able to prove that Twitter has experienced a "material adverse effect" since Musk's offer was made. Legally that might be the right answer on paper, but forcing someone kicking and screaming to acquire a company with thousands of real employees and clients is an entirely different real-world exercise.
To the Twitter end
Bret Taylor, Twitter’s chair, shared that the company would pursue legal action to complete the deal — with Twitter yesterday responding to a letter from Musk's lawyers. That suggests a long and messy legal battle is likely to ensue, with markets putting little faith in Musk actually paying the $54.20 per Twitter share considering you can currently pick one up for 40% less than that amount. This might just be the end of the beginning of this saga.
