Twitter has subpoenaed a division of cryptocurrency exchange Binance over its allocation of funding for a takeover of the social network by Ilon Musk. This was reported by Bloomberg.
In May, the trading platform provided the businessman with $500 million to complete the deal. According to court documents, Twitter’s lawyers want to know about the terms of the investment and the billionaire’s efforts to syndicate the funds.
Musk’s potential creditors, including Factorial Funds, Benefit Street, Bandera Partners, Founders Fund Growth II Management, a number of Silicon Valley investors, financial advisers from Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and specialist investment bank Allen & Co, have also been subpoenaed. This later included Tesla, SpaceX and Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin.
Twitter is requesting information from them about private negotiations with Musk regarding the sale of the social network, as well as documentary evidence of the billionaire’s assumptions about underestimating the number of actual users of the platform.
The company’s requests refer to Ilon Musk’s tweets dated 15 and 17 May, in which he claims, among other things, that the proportion of bots on Twitter “could exceed 90% of daily active users”.
The social network requested further information from Musk’s lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and McDermott Will & Emery.
The Delaware Court of Chancery has granted Twitter a five-day trial in the case. It is due to start on October 17.
Recall that Elon Musk bought 9.2% of Twitter in April 2022 and later offered to buy the company for $54.2 per share. The management of the social network agreed to the terms.
The billionaire attributed the initiative to a desire to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”.
However, in May, Musk halted the purchase process after reports of inflated audience figures for the social network. Twitter shareholders then sued over the “chaotic process” of the takeover, accusing the Tesla CEO of manipulating the market.
In July, Musk announced that he had terminated the agreement to acquire the social network.
In the same month, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the head of Tesla over his withdrawal from the deal. The platform intends to force the entrepreneur to fulfil his obligations and complete the purchase.
