Twitter Inc. claimed on Monday that paying a whistleblower did not break any of the terms of Elon Musk's $44 billion deal to buy the company. This came after Elon Musk tried again to get out of the agreement.
Attorneys for Musk, the richest person in the world, claimed in a letter addressed to Twitter on Friday that the company had broken the terms of the merger agreement by not getting his approval before paying whistleblower Peiter Zatko and his lawyers $7.75 million, Reuters reported. The merger deal limits when Twitter may make such payments.
In response, Twitter's legal counsel stated on Monday that Musk's justification for pulling out of the agreement is "invalid and wrongful."
Twitter shares fell nearly 2% to $41.37, much below Musk's $54.20 bid price.
No Breach on Obligations
According to Twitter, none of its obligations have been broken.
In a letter to Musk's representatives, the social media company's lawyers stated "As was the case with both your July 8, 2022, and August 29, 2022, purported notices of termination, the purported termination set forth in your September 9, 2022 letter is invalid and wrongful under the Agreement," the social media giant's legal team wrote to Musk's representatives.
Twitter has not violated any of its promises or commitments under the Agreement, and after receiving the affirmative vote of Twitter's stockholders at its "special meeting" on September 13, 2022, all requirements will be met for the merger to close according to the lawyers
The letter to Musk's lawyers comes before a special meeting of Twitter shareholders on Tuesday, where the deal will be voted on.
Twitter's former chief of security, Zatko, charged the social media corporation last month with making false claims about its security measures and misrepresenting how it protects itself against spam accounts and hackers.
He was dismissed by the company in January
On September 13, the whistleblower will speak with the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee to examine the accusations.
A Complicated Issue
Wedbush analysts wrote in a note that tomorrow's hearing will be closely watched by Wall Street because the Musk camp will be able to talk about the Zatko claims in its testimony for Delaware, per CNBC.
The Twitter-Musk controversy has grown quite convoluted. In April, Musk first suggested purchasing the business. After considerable opposition, Twitter endorsed the agreement.
But soon after, Musk started griping that there are more phony or spam accounts on the social networking site than is publicly acknowledged.
The legal team for Tesla's CEO filed a notice to terminate the Twitter acquisition with the SEC on July 8 because "Twitter has not fulfilled its contractual duties."
Last month, Zatko said that the social media firm had "severe, flagrant faults" in terms of privacy, security, and content moderation, per NBC News.
Unless they first find a resolution, Twitter and Musk will go to court on October 17 in Delaware to address Musk's request to revoke his acquisition of the company.
Musk will be permitted to incorporate Zatko's accusations in his counterclaim.
