Twitter deal temporarily on hold, says Elon Musk | International Business News

NEW DELHI: After putting his $44 billion deal for acquiring social media platform Twitter on hold temporarily, Elon Musk said that he is still committed to the acquisition.
The clarification came 2 hours after Musk’s tweet that the deal was “temporarily on hold” until he could get more details about the volume of spam and fake accounts on the platform.
Shortly after announcing his decision to put the deal on hold, Musk took to Twitter again and confirmed that he plans to complete the acquisition.

In his earlier tweet, Musk had made reference to a May 2 regulatory filing by Twitter that included an estimate that fewer than 5% of Twitter’s users were spam and fake accounts.

Known for his freewheeling and sometimes impulsive style, Musk’s tweet left many wondering about the future of the deal.
The regulatory filing cited by Musk had come days after his tweet which said one of his priorities would be to remove “spam bots” from the platform.

Twitter had said in the filing that it faced several risks until the deal with Musk is closed, such as whether advertisers would continue to spend on Twitter and “potential uncertainty regarding our future plans and strategy.”
Earlier in the day, Twitter chief executive officer (CEO) Parag Agrawal told employees in a memo that 2 senior leaders who oversee the consumer and revenue divisions will depart the social media company.
This is one of the biggest shake-ups in Twitter since billionaire Musk announced he would buy it.
The company was targeting $7.5 billion in annual revenue and 315 million daily users by the end of 2023, but withdrew those goals in its recent earnings report.
Agrawal also said that Twitter would pause most hiring and review all existing job offers to determine whether any “should be pulled back.”
After Musk’s announcement, Twitter shares fell 17.7% to $37.10 in premarket trading, their lowest level since Musk disclosed his stake in the company in early April and subsequently made a “best and final” offer to take it private for $54.20 per share.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares, against which Musk has secured $6.25 billion in funding for the acquisition, were up about 5%.
(With inputs from agencies)
Watch Elon Musk announces that Twitter deal is on hold; here’s why