Evercore ISI Senior Managing Director Mark Mahaney takes to Twitter, suing billionaire entrepreneur for ‘Varney & Co.’
Elon Musk is opposing Twitter’s request for a fast-track trial over its plan to end its $44 billion deal for the social media firm.
Shares of Twitter were down about 1% in after-hours trading.
In a statement Friday, Musk’s lawyers said Twitter’s “unreasonable request” to rush the merger case by two months should be denied.
The filing was made in the Chancery Court of Delaware.
ELON MUSK TWITTER SAGA: WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AND WHAT’S AHEAD?
Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday for breaching the deal to buy the company, asking a Delaware court to order the merger to be completed at the agreed price of $54.20 per share.
The billionaire said he believes at least 20% of Twitter users may be spam, fake accounts (Getty images | istock)
The company requested that the process begin in September, as the merger agreement with Musk expires on October 25.
“Twitter’s sudden request for warp speed after two months of stalling and obfuscation is its latest tactic to hide the truth about the spam accounts long enough to get the defendants to shut down,” Musk’s filing said.
ELON MUSK’S TWITTER DEAL GETS MORE SECONDARY VERIFICATION
On July 8, Musk’s lawyers said he would back out of the deal, claiming Twitter was “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the agreement and “appears to have made false and misleading statements” when it accepted the acquisition offer of Musk on April 25.
In this photo illustration, a Twitter logo is seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The announcement came as Musk and his legal team disputed Twitter’s internal estimates that spam and fake accounts make up less than 5% of users.
Musk’s lawyers say the dispute is fundamental to Twitter’s value and is highly factual and expert and will take a significant amount of time to unravel.
ELON MUSK TWITTER SAGA LIKELY TO LONG: ‘NO PRECEDENT’ FOR THIS, EXPERT SAYS
They are asking for a trial date on or after February 13 next year.
Elon Musk’s Twitter account is displayed on the iPhone screen in front of the home page of the Twitter website. (Chesnot/Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, if the process is pushed back that far, there are fears the deal could fall through as the debt financing package committed by the banks for the acquisition expires in April 2023.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % TWTR TWITTER INC. 37.45 +1.19 +3.27%TSLA TESLA INC. 720.20 +5.26 +0.74%
Twitter declined to comment on Musk’s latest proposal.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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