Elon Musk cancels the deal to buy Twitter... and the company's shares are falling
Billionaire Elon Musk canceled his deal to buy Twitter on Friday, accusing the social media platform of providing "misleading" data about the number of fake accounts, according to a letter he sent to a regulator.
Musk's cancellation of the $44 billion deal he signed in April opens the door to a legal battle with the San Francisco-based company, over fees to terminate the deal, which could reach $1 billion and more.
"Mr. Musk is exercising his right to cancel the agreement and abandon the deal," his lawyers said in a letter to Twitter, a copy of which was sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Twitter shares fell 6 percent in post-close trading.
Musk's lawyers said in a notification to regulators that Twitter failed or refused to respond to multiple requests for information about fake or unwanted accounts on the platform, which is essential to the company's business.
Musk has threatened to block the deal unless the company provides evidence that the fake accounts are less than five percent of users who see ads on the social media service.
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