Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition appears to now halted as Twitter dodges the lengthy review of the proposed deal. The antitrust waiting period of the proposed $44 billion acquisition is not officially expired. Now, the formalities like customary closing conditions and Twitter stockholders’ approval are left.
Once the regulatory approvals are finished, it seems like Musk’s proposal will officially be rejected. Under the antitrust law, the deals are reported to the US government. Where the deal is reviewed by either the Federal Trade Commission or the Justice Department. If either of the agency filed a second request, there would have been an investigation. It could have lasted several months for the investigation to end.
Last month, Elon Musk said that the Twitter deal was temporarily on hold. Meanwhile, he’s working on seeking information on the percentage of fake accounts on the platform. Musk had already secured debt funding and equity for the deal.
The series of events
Initially, on April 14, 2022, Musk revealed his intention to acquire the social media platform, Twitter. The proposed deal has been $43 billion, while Musk already acquired around 9.1 percent of shares in the company. After the proposal, Twitter invited Musk to a board of directors position, which he declined after briefly accepting it.
Later Twitter announced a “poison pill” strategy to not let Musk acquire the company on April 15. Ten days later on April 25, Twitter’s board unanimously accepts the $44 billion buyout proposal. The reception has been mixed, where some praised Musk’s vision for Twitter. While the notable criticism was pointed out disinformation and harassment on the platform being the main concern. By May 2022, the approval was pending officially, which was to be approved by regulators and shareholders.
The takeover
In April, Musk owned around 9.2 percent of company shares, making him the largest shareholder in the company. He started buying shares of Twitter in January 2022. Despite that, his plans appear to include full acquisition, to change the way how Twitter works.
On April 14 Musk officially made the announcement of the proposal on Twitter. In a TED interview, Musk shared his idea of how Twitter could be advanced. He said the platform has immense potential. His focus was not the government censorship like many Twitter users would have thought. It was focused on Twitter’s moderation policies.
Since the proposal, many have been sharing their opinions. Twitter advisors, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs have said that the deal should be approved. They said that it is a fair deal from a financial perspective. Various other factors like Musk servicing as interim CEO after the acquisition were all decided. But now, things seem to be taking a backslash once again for Elon Musk.