No data, no deal: Elon Musk warns of junking $44-billion Twitter bid

Says Twitter breaching merger agreement by not giving details on bot accounts

Elon Musk said he believes Twitter is breaching their merger agreement by not meeting his demands for information about spam and fake accounts, injecting another twist into a takeover saga marked by the billionaire’s serial outbursts. Twitter shares were down about 3.3 per cent mid-morning in New York.

Musk believes Twitter is “actively resisting” and “thwarting his information rights” by refusing to disclose the information, according to an amended securities filing on Monday. Last month, Musk said he wouldn’t proceed with his $44-billion takeover of Twitter unless the social media giant can prove bots make up fewer than 5 per cent of its users, as the company has stated in public filings. Musk has estimated that fake accounts make up at least 20 per cent of all users. 

Monday’s stock slump reinforced doubts that Musk would finalize his $54.20-a-share offer, further widening the gap between the market’s expectations and the billionaire’s price. The shares have barely — and only briefly — surpassed $50 since Musk sprung his buyout plan on April 14. The deal came together breakneck speed in part because Musk waived the chance to look at Twitter’s finances beyond what was publicly available. 

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has sparred with Musk publicly on Twitter about bots. Agrawal has said the firm has human reviewers look at “thousands of accounts” to determine the prevalence of bots, but added that he couldn’t share more specifics because of privacy concerns. Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.