Twitter assures that Elon Musk's attempt to withdraw from the purchase of the social network is "invalid"

MADRID, 12 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Twitter lawyers on Monday described Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk's attempt to withdraw from the purchase of the social network as "invalid."

"The alleged termination of Mr. Musk's contract (...) is invalid and unlawful, and constitutes a repudiation of his obligations under the agreement. Contrary to the assertions in his letter, Twitter has not breached any of its obligations under the agreement ", has asserted the legal team of the social network in a letter shared by the Securities Market Commission (SEC).

Last Friday, Musk transferred to Twitter that he was renouncing the social network's purchase contract after receiving no response from the company when requesting information about the number of false accounts found on the platform, as well as the way of company to audit and suspend them.

Musk had been publicly questioning Twitter's 'bot' numbers for weeks, which many analysts saw as an attempt to drive down the tech giant's share price. Twitter shares plunged more than 6 percent in post-announcement trading, CNN reported.

In mid-May, the tycoon decided to temporarily suspend the purchase of Twitter, agreed at the end of last April for some 44,000 million dollars (42,156 million euros), pending details that support the company's calculation that fake/spam accounts account for less than five percent of users.

Subsequently, through a letter sent in early June by Musk's lawyers to the United States Securities Market Commission (SEC), the billionaire's legal team considered Twitter's position a "substantial breach" of its obligations under the merger agreement, warning that Elon Musk "reserves all resulting rights, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement."

Musk and Twitter agreed to a penalty of 987 million euros ($1 billion) to be paid by any party that withdraws from the deal, although if Twitter intends to force the purchase under the agreed terms, things could get more complicated for the South African tycoon, according to has detailed the aforementioned chain.