CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O) and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk said on Friday he was terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter because the social media company had failed to provide information about fake accounts.
Shares of Twitter were down 7% in extended trading. Musk had offered $54.20 per share in April.
Twitter’s chairman, Bret Taylor, said on the micro-blogging platform that the board planned to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk…,” he wrote.
In a filing, Musk’s lawyers said Twitter had failed or refused to respond to multiple requests for information on fake or spam accounts on the platform, which is fundamental to the company’s business performance.
“Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that Agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement,” the filing said.
