Elon Musk didn’t want it, but here he is (un)happy owner of Twitter. This Friday, the social network confirmed the purchase that had to be completed before this deadline, otherwise a lawsuit between the two parties was inevitable. If the billionaire seems to have gotten used to the idea of this forced purchase, it is mainly the conclusion of a soap opera with twists and turns launched, almost in jest, last April. Revisit a heartbreak in ten dates.
April 4: Elon Musk becomes the group’s largest shareholder
Unrestrained user of the social network, where he has become accustomed to speaking freely – even if it means being patted on the fingers by the US stock market policeman – Elon Musk announces on April 4, 2022 the purchase of 9.2% of the capital from Twitter. There is still no talk of a takeover bid and even the billionaire assures that he does not want to influence the company’s major strategic decisions: he will also resign from being part of the board of directors. However, this investment allowed him to become the first shareholder of the social network, ahead of the group’s founder, Jack Dorsey.
Apr 14 – Tesla boss announces plans to buy “100% of Twitter”
Ten days later, the Tesla boss makes his intentions clear: he finally wants take over the entire company and take it off the stock market. His offer valued Twitter at $44 billion, compared to a $36 billion actual valuation at the material time. On Twitter, the coup goes wrong but the Tesla boss shows his muscles: in case of refusal, he threatens to “reexamine his position as a shareholder” within the social network. Forced, the social network announces “carefully examining” this “unsolicited and non-binding offer”, not without trying to sink the billionaire’s blow through a “poisoned” clause. In vain.
April 25: the social network finally agrees to be bought
While the Tesla boss had indicated that he had secured nearly $46.5 billion to finance the transaction, Twitter eventually accepts the takeover offer. The social network will thus be bought by $44 billion. The definitive acquisition agreement provides that the social network will be 100% owned by Elon Musk, so it will go public.
May 13: Elon Musk suspends acquisition
First turn. After days of rumors, Elon Musk announces that he will suspend the acquisition of Twitter. He wants to make sure that the social network does not contain no more than 5% fake accounts. The figure is a highly scrutinized indicator by social media investors because the latter’s revenue is based on the display of advertising to (real) Internet users. Clearly, fake accounts are all potential users that won’t actually be monetizable.
For its part, Twitter accuses Elon Musk of having breached a confidentiality agreement by revealing their method used internally to assess this proportion of fake accounts. A few days later, the billionaire amounted to between 20 and 50% fake twitter accounts
June 6: Tension rises, Elon Musk threatens to slam the door again
The case of fake accounts continues to rise. Believing that Twitter is reluctant to share its information on this topic, the Tesla boss threatens a second time with withdraw your offer. What to do to react on the social network, which three days later announces that it will provide the requested data.
July 8: the exchange is canceled
After a month of tension -with the war in Ukraine and the fall in the price of Tesla in the background-, Elon Musk finally announces, in a letter addressed to the American stock market policeman, that he is ending the negotiations for the takeover bid for Twitter. According to him, the platform has not fulfilled its transparency commitments regarding the number of fake accounts on the platform.
July 11: Twitter’s course unscrews, the pulse begins
Unsurprisingly, Twitter’s price fell at the open on Wall Street, further weakening a company that was already running out of steam. Initially resistant to the takeover, Twitter is now demanding that Elon Musk keep his word by paying the $44 billion. To force it, Twitter will launch a legal battle and file a complaint on July 12
July 29: A trial is scheduled for October 17.
The summer will be dotted with legal hearings between the two camps, mostly around fake accounts. For Musk, Twitter has not been honest in its information, so the purchase is cancelled. But for the social network, it was rather the setbacks in Tesla’s course on Wall Street that motivated the billionaire to give up. To resolve the dispute, a judge orders a trial on October 17. Bad news for Elon Musk, who has a hard time convincing him of his good faith. Especially since a lost lawsuit would be extremely costly for him.
October 3: Elon Musk resigns himself to buying Twitter
As his trial date approaches, the billionaire finds that he has every chance of losing his legal fight. Not without bitterness, therefore, he ended up announcing to the US stock market policeman, on October 3, that he was going to buy the social network for the anticipated sum, that is, 44 billion. Enigmatic, he promises to make it an “all-purpose app” on the Chinese WeChat model.
October 27: the purchase is official
October 27 was the deadline to fulfill his promise, otherwise a trial would be organized. Therefore, this Friday Elon Musk confirmed, on Twitter, of course, his acquisition promising, contrary to his previous comments, not to turn the platform into a “lawless zone” on freedom of expression.
Source: BFM TV
