Twitter gags staff over Elon Musk's £36B takeover due to ongoing legal matter
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Elon Musk had spent months talking up a potential takeover of the social media website, but has now pulled out of the running to buy it because of discrepancies relating to fake accounts
Twitter staff have been told to keep schtum over the failed takeover of the company by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
After months of talking about the importance of free speech and changes he may make to Twitter, Elon Musk sensationally pulled out of a $44bn (£36.5 bn) deal to buy the site outright.
A letter sent by a lawyer on the Tesla CEO's behalf to Twitter's chief legal officer on Friday, July 8, stated that the company didn't keep up its end of the deal.
In the letter, disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, attorney Mike Ringler charged that “Twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations”.
Ringler claimed that Twitter did not provide Musk with relevant business information he requested.
And now Twitter is telling its employees that they can not comment on the issue in public.
Twitter bosses are thought to be going to the courts to force the deal through, but a company insider told NBC that Musk had “f**king destroyed the company”.
They said: “I guess it feels like we won. But it feels like the end of the movie, where the characters are bloodied and bedraggled with a Michael Bay explosion behind them.
“We could see this was coming, but in the meantime he's f**king destroyed the company.”
A leaked internal memo, reported by New York Times, shows that Twitter bosses are not going to take Musk walking away from the deal lying down.
Company general counsel Sean Edgett wrote: "Given this is an ongoing legal matter, you should refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement."
Company chairman Bret Taylor took to the social media site to update users on plans to force it through.
He wrote: “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement.
“We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Musk has not yet commented on the saga.