Twitter alleges that Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct in his attempted bid to purchase Twitter for $44 billion.
While Musk has reversed course and said that he will now go through with his planned purchase of Twitter, word of the alleged federal investigations has only come to light in a recent court filing from the social media giant.
Twitter states that in September, attorneys for Elon Musk provided a “privilege log” of documents that would not be handed over in discovery for the trial over the failed deal. These logs referenced drafts of a May 13 email to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a slide presentation to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
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The filing asked Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick to order Musk’s attorneys to provide the documents on October 6 but that same day, litigation was paused after the world’s richest man had a change of heart and said he would proceed with the deal to purchase Twitter.
Reuters notes that the SEC has previously questioned Musk, including whether he disclosed his 9 per cent stake in Twitter too late and why he had initially said he would be a passive shareholder. The SEC also asked Musk in June if he should amend his public filing to reflect plans to suspend or abandon the planned takeover of Twitter.
It is understood that the FTC also looked into whether Musk failed to comply with antitrust reporting requirements confirming an investor’s intentions of being a passive or active shareholder.
Elon Musk has until October 28 to conclude his acquisition of Twitter. If it doesn’t happen, both parties will go to trial in November.
