Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter hits further roadblocks over reported legal wranglings

Elon Musk had secured an agreement to purchase Twitter for about US$42 billion in April 2022. However, it now seems that the Tesla executive himself is now stalling on its completion based on certain disclosures Twitter has apparently failed to make in drawing the acquisition contract up.

Musk is reportedly balking on a point in this document that pertains to the ratio of "bot" to 'real user' accounts on the platform, asserting that Twitter is withholding the in-house data required for the potential buyer's legal team to verify this figure.

Accordingly, Musk's lawyer Mark Ringler alleges a "clear material breach of Twitter’s obligations under the merger agreement" in a June 6, 2022 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, some correspondents perceive this move as a pretext to get out of the deal in question.

Musk did agree to buy Twitter back when its shares were valued at $52.40 each - a price that has fallen to $39.56 at the time of writing. Therefore, the mogul is now viewed as having major buyer's remorse, particularly as he is reportedly liable to face potentially costly legal action should he attempt to exit the agreement now.

Twitter, on the other hand, is overtly determined to complete the merger on its current terms, as it would be the best outcome for its shareholders.