Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly halted his $44 billion Twitter acquisition pending an investigation into bot accounts on the platform. Shares fell more than 15 percent in pre-market trading following Musk’s statement on his Twitter account. In a follow-up post, Musk added that he is “still focused on achieving.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the deal to buy Twitter is currently “pending” as investigations into the number of bots and spam accounts on Twitter are complete. Twitter said in a recent filing that less than five percent of its daily active users have fake or spam accounts, now Musk seems more than willing to corroborate that claim, which is less than most estimates.
“The Twitter deal is temporarily suspended pending details supporting its calculations that spam/fake accounts represent less than 5% of users,” Musk said in a tweet.
Twitter deal temporarily suspended as details await supporting calculations that spam/fake accounts represent less than 5% of users https://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022
Twitter shares began falling immediately in premarket trading, falling more than 15 percent from $45.08 per share to close to $38.76 at 7:30 ET previously.
Musk added that he is “still focused on winning.”
I’m still looking to get
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022
Breitbart News recently reported that the SEC has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s disclosure of his large stake in Twitter late last month, a delay that has allowed him to buy more shares without warning other Twitter shareholders about the ownership.
The SEC is reportedly investigating Musk’s late filing of a public form that investors must fill out when purchasing more than five percent of the company’s stock. Disclosure is an early sign to shareholders and companies that a large investor may want to control or influence the company.
Investors who cross the threshold must submit a form disclosing their stake with the SEC within ten days. Musk’s assets crossed the 5% threshold on March 14, which means he must disclose his stake by March 24.
Since March 24, Musk has purchased approximately $513 million worth of shares at prices ranging from $38.20 to $40.31 per share, making it Twitter’s largest individual shareholder with a 9.2 percent stake in the company. It could have saved more than $143 million, as Twitter’s closing price was $49.97 on April 5, when Musk announced his stake.
Breitbart News also reported earlier this month that Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter could cost him less than the $44 billion it had offered, according to investment firm Hindenburg Research. The company is an expert on short selling activists and says Musk currently has enough action to threaten to pull out of the deal and persuade Twitter’s board to agree to a lower purchase price.
Hindenburg, in the news that took a short stance on Twitter: “Musk holds all the cards here. If Elon Musk’s Twitter bid loses tomorrow, Twitter’s stock will drop 50% from its current level. Therefore, we see a great risk that the deal will be priced lower again. ” said.
Read more of Breitbart’s news here.
Source: Breitbart
