The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

  • Twitter sues one of the world’s richest men to complete the US$44 billion (A$64 billion) takeover deal
  • The social media giant asked a Delaware court on Tuesday to complete the merger at the agreed price of US$54.20 per Twitter share
  • Mr Musk said he was dropping the deal because Twitter violated the agreement by failing to respond to requests for information regarding fake or spam accounts
  • It is expected this lawsuit to be one of the biggest showdowns in Wall Street history

Social media giant Twitter has sued Elon Musk to complete the US$44 billion (A$64 billion) takeover deal.

The blue bird asked a Delaware court on Tuesday to complete the merger at the agreed price of US$54.20 per Twitter share.

“Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away,” the lawsuit said.

It is expected this lawsuit to be one of the biggest showdowns in Wall Street history.

On Friday, Mr Musk said he was dropping the deal because Twitter violated the agreement by failing to respond to requests for information regarding fake or spam accounts on the platform.

Twitter has said it did not share more information with Mr Musk about spam accounts because it feared he would create a competing platform after abandoning the purchase.

The lawsuit has accused one of the world’s richest men of having a “long list” of violations of the merger agreement that “have cast a pall over Twitter and its business.”

Twitter has also said its belief that Mr Musk decided to walk away is more to do with the decline in the stock market, particularly for tech stocks.

Shares of the social media platform closed at US$34.06 on Tuesday, up 4.3 per cent.

In a separate filling, Twitter has asked the court to schedule a four-day trial in mid-September.

More From The Market Online

RBA keeps interest rates on hold in line with expectations

The Reserve Bank of Australia has acted largely in line with expectations and kept Australia's interest…

Aussie unemployment still too low, but Q1 2024 increase tipped: Oxford Economics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released unemployment data for October, posting a return to 3.7…

Building Approvals up 7.5 per cent, CapEx also climbs

The number of dwelling approvals rose 7.5 per cent last month, in a big turn around…

Australian unemployment rate remains at 3.9pc despite 65,000 job losses

Australia saw a significant employment drop of 65,000 jobs in December 2023, marking the second-largest loss…