UPDATED 14:01 EDT / SEPTEMBER 13 2022

APPS

Twitter shareholders vote for Elon Musk’s $44B buyout as whistleblower testifies

Twitter Inc.’s shareholders today voted to approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of the company and take it private.

The vote comes after Musk has been seeking to drop the deal claiming that the company was in breach of the original agreement – primarily that Twitter had failed to disclose how many accounts were fake. Twitter claimed that a mere 5% of its monetizable active users are spam or bot accounts and says it has provided Musk with sufficient documentation to this effect.

Twitter argued that Musk’s complaints were merely a pretext for backing out of the deal and responded with a lawsuit to enforce the acquisition. The case is currently making its way through the Delaware Court of Chancery, and the trial is expected to begin in mid-October. The completion of this vote will allow the suit to move forward.

Musk made the original offer to purchase Twitter in April for $54.20 per share in an all-cash offer, valuing the company at approximately $44 billion. Twitter shares are currently trading at $42.34, well below Musk’s asking price, up from $41.47 at the market open.

The vote’s completion also coincides with testimony before U.S. Congress from Twitter’s former head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who told lawmakers that the social media company is “misleading the public” about how secure the platform is. He previously supported Musk’s claim that the platform had more fake and spam accounts than Twitter claimed but did not go into details.

Twitter denies Zatko’s claims and said he was a disgruntled former employee who was fired for poor performance.

Photo: Unsplash

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