Twitter Takeover by Elon Musk in Jeopardy Due to Unverifiable Spam Account Data - Reports

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The takeover of social media company Twitter by entrepreneur Elon Musk is imperiled by unverifiable data about the number of spam accounts on the platform, The Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the deal.

Discussions by Musk’s team on funding for the $44 billion deal have ceased due to concerns about the verifiability of Twitter's figures regarding the number of spam accounts, the report said on Thursday.

Musk could take drastic action and alter the course of the negotiations, one source reportedly said.

Musk would be required to pay $1 billion to pull out of the deal, which would likely spark lawsuits, the report added. Twitter could try to lock Musk into the purchase if they can prove the cancellation is not related to the company’s core business, according to the report.

In April, Musk reached an acquisition agreement with Twitter at $54.20 per share in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. However, Musk put the deal on hold in May to allow his team to review the veracity of Twitter’s claim that less than 5% of accounts on the platform are bots or spam.

Twitter has not been cooperative with Musk regarding the matter, another person familiar with the deal reportedly said.

Musk in late June at the Qatar Economic Forum expressed optimism about the deal moving forward despite the unresolved issues inhibiting it, as well as his ability to bolster free speech and inclusiveness on Twitter as its leader.