Twitter shareholders approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the social network

98.6% of Twitter shareholders supported Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the social network, the company said in a заявлении компании citing preliminary voting results.

“Twitter wishes to complete the merger with Musk’s affiliated firms no later than September 15, 2022, after all preconditions have been satisfied,” the statement said.

The vote took place a few days after the billionaire sent Twitter a third letter requesting termination of the deal.

Among other things in it, it reported a penalty of $7.75 million that Twitter allegedly paid to the former head of its security service Peter Zatko. Musk’s lawyers noted that this payment violated the terms of the acquisition agreement.

Under the agreement, Twitter agreed not to pay employees any compensation beyond what is customary in past practice.

On September 13, Zatko testified before the U.S. Senate on the alleged presence of foreign intelligence agents on Twitter’s payroll. He said this represents a serious vulnerability in terms of security and privacy.

In April 2022, Elon Musk proposed to buy Twitter at a price of $54.2 per share. Twitter’s leadership agreed to the terms.

However, in May, the billionaire paused the process after reports of inflated audience metrics for the social network. Meanwhile, Twitter shareholders filed a lawsuit over the “chaotic process” of the takeover, accusing the head of Tesla of market manipulation.

In July, Musk announced his termination of the social network’s acquisition agreement. The company filed suit against him, asking to fulfill the obligations and close the purchase.

On July 29, the businessman filed a countersuit. He also said he was willing to seal the deal on the original terms if Twitter reveals the sampling method for 100 accounts and the method for verifying their authenticity.

In early August, Twitter lawyers summoned the Binance division to court over the financing allocated to it for the takeover of the social network by Elon Musk. The summons were also served on financial advisers, investors and potential lenders to the businessman.

The case is expected to be heard in court on October 17.

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