The official profile of Elon Musk on the social network Twitter.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked billionaire Elon Musk for more information about a tweet related to his $44 billion acquisition. Twitter who tried to cancel it recently, a The new regulatory deposit Thursday offers.
The disclosure highlights how Musk represented his commitment to the deal before the Securities and Exchange Commission, even as he searched Twitter for information about spam accounts on the platform. It also shows how the deal could bring Musk back into the agency’s crosshairs.
In a letter dated June 7, Musk’s attorney and Skadden partner Mike Ringler responded to questions sent by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office a few days ago.
The letter reiterates the clarification the SEC has requested from Musk, including whether an earlier filing should be modified based on his tweet that the Twitter deal “cannot go forward” until the company provides more information about the spam accounts.
“The term ‘cannot’ indicates that Mr. Musk and his subsidiaries are exercising a legal right under the terms of the merger agreement to suspend completion of the Twitter acquisition or not intend to complete the acquisition,” the SEC wrote. in filing. “However, we note that Schedule 13d has not been modified to reflect the apparent material change that has occurred to previously reported facts under Clause 4 of Schedule 13d.”
Ringler responded at the time that Musk did not believe his tweet “caused any needed modification to the Schedule 13D that he had previously provided. Although Mr. Musk wanted information to evaluate potentially harassing and fake accounts, there was no material change to Mr.’s plans and proposals.” Musk regarding the proposed deal at the time.”
Since then musk He sought to get out of the bargain, alleging that Twitter did not abide by the end of the contract by not disclosing what information it should have and conducting layoffs without Musk’s consent. but Twitter She said she complied with the terms of the agreement He claimed that Musk is simply trying to pull back now that market conditions have changed.
Twitter sued Musk in Delaware Chancery Court On Tuesday to seek to force him to the original agreement.
Watch: How Elon Musk’s plans to take over Twitter have shaken Wall Street and social media