Musk Sued by Twitter Investors for Stock Manipulation During Takeover Bid

The investors said Musk saved himself $156 million (about Rs. 1,211 crore) by failing to disclose that he had purchased more than 5 percent of Twitter.

By Reuters | Updated: 27 May 2022 10:06 IST

Musk Sued by Twitter Investors for Stock Manipulation During Takeover Bid

Photo Credit: Reuters

Investors seek an unspecified amount of compensatory damages

Highlights

Investors asked to be certified as a class
The investors said Musk continued to buy stock after March 14
Musk disclosed in early April that he owned 9.2 percent of Twitter

Billionaire Elon Musk was sued by Twitter investors claiming he manipulated the company's stock price downward, as the chief executive of electric carmaker Tesla mounts a $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,41,552 crore) takeover bid for the social media platform.

The investors said Musk saved himself $156 million (roughly Rs. 1,211 crore) by failing to disclose that he had purchased more than 5 percent of Twitter by March 14. They asked to be certified as a class and to be awarded an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages.

They also named Twitter as a defendant, arguing the company had an obligation to investigate Musk's conduct, though they are not seeking damages from the firm.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

The investors said Musk continued to buy stock after that, and ultimately disclosed in early April that he owned 9.2 percent of the company, according to the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in San Francisco federal court.

"By delaying his disclosure of his stake in Twitter, Musk engaged in market manipulation and bought Twitter stock at an artificially low price," said the investors, led by Virginia resident William Heresniak.

Neither Musk nor his lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment.

Elon Musk Revises Twitter Financing Plan, Shares Jump: Report

The investors said the recent drop in Tesla's stock has put Musk's ability to finance his acquisition of Twitter in "major peril" since he has pledged his shares as collateral to secure the loans he needs to buy the company.

Tesla's shares were trading at around $713 (roughly Rs. 55,350) on Thursday afternoon, down from above $1,000 (roughly Rs. 77,600) in early April.

The timing of Musk's disclosure of his stake has already triggered an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Ownership May Benefit China: Reports

The SEC requires any investor who buys a stake exceeding 5 percent in a company to disclose their holdings within 10 days of crossing the threshold.

The investors also said public criticism by Musk of the company, including a May 13 tweet stating the buyout was "temporarily on hold" until Twitter proved that spam bots accounted for less than 5% of its users, amounted to an attempt to further drive the share price down.

Musk on Wednesday pledged an additional $6.25 billion (roughly Rs. 48,500 crore) in equity financing to fund his bid for Twitter, a sign he is still working to complete the deal.

Musk was sued earlier this month in Delaware Chancery Court by a Florida pension fund seeking to halt the deal on the basis that some other big Twitter shareholders were supporting the buyout, a violation of Delaware law. Heresniak's lawsuit does not seek to stop the takeover.

Should you pick Vivo over Galaxy S22 and OnePlus 10 Pro? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.