Twitter-Musk takeover dispute heading for October trial

Image credit: Marca

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, lost his bid for a postponement after a US judge ruled that Twitter’s lawsuit against him would go to trial in October.

The businesses chose to sue Mr Musk after he backed out of his $44 billion (£36 billion) offer to buy Twitter earlier in July.

To complete the transaction at the agreed-upon share price of $54.20, Twitter is hoping that the court will order Mr Musk to

The software tycoon alleges that Twitter is withholding details about fraudulent accounts.

His legal team asked for the trial to begin early in 2019, but Twitter insisted on a September start date due to the intricacy of the case.

A Delaware judge on Tuesday sided with the company and agreed that a trial postponement would bring about a “fog of uncertainty.”

Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the chancellor, stated that “delay threatens irreparable harm.” 

Twitter’s main attorney, William Savitt, stated during the hearing on Tuesday that the lingering uncertainty regarding whether the merger would proceed or not “inflicts injury on Twitter everyday.”

Mr Musk’s attorney, Andrew Rossman, contended that he continues to be one of Twitter’s largest stockholders. According to him, the trial should take place within the next year on a “reasonable” schedule that would provide both sides with ample time to prepare.

Since Mr Musk started raising concerns about the volume of spam and phoney accounts on Twitter’s platform in May, the stock price of the firm has dropped from highs of $50 per share.

The company’s shares are now trading for roughly $39.45, far less than the $54.20 per share it intends to consummate the merger at.

As a self-described “free speech absolutist,” Mr Musk has vowed to relax content restrictions if he were to acquire the business.

Additionally, he demanded that the company be more transparent about how tweets are promoted to wider audiences and how they are presented to users.