In the latest development of Elon Musk’s prolonged Twitter acquisition, Twitter shareholders have now voted to approve Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy the company — despite Musk trying to back out of the whole deal.
This is important for a couple of reasons. Although Twitter and Musk struck an agreement for the acquisition back in April, Twitter has been waiting on shareholders to vote on the deal to get it approved. As of Tuesday, September 13, it’s being reported that a preliminary count of the votes confirms that shareholders have approved the deal.
Not only does shareholder approval mean Twitter can move forward with Musk’s purchase, but it also means Twitter can now go ahead with a lawsuit requiring Musk to purchase the company.
That lawsuit is necessary because Musk tried backing out of the Twitter deal in July — citing “misleading” statements from Twitter about its actual user numbers and bot accounts. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk immediately after he got cold feet, and with shareholder approval now official, Twitter can keep the lawsuit going and attempt to hold Musk to his original offer to buy the company for $44 billion.
With shareholder approval finalized, Twitter and Musk are expected to begin their trial in October at the Delaware Court of Chancery. Musk still has an opportunity there to obtain a judgment permitting him to back out of the deal, but Twitter’s now in a better position to hold the billionaire accountable and force him to go through with it.
Ultimately, what we’re left with is a situation that’s still very messy any way you look at it. Many people are worried about an Elon Musk-run Twitter and don’t want him to own it. Others are excited about the idea of Musk behind the reins of the platform. Musk wanted to buy Twitter, but now he doesn’t. Twitter is trying to force Musk to buy the platform, even though he no longer wants to, creating more mixed emotions for Twitter’s user base.
It’s an awkward thing all-around, and with Twitter shareholders now voicing their support for the deal to go forward, things are bound to get even wilder come October.
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