Social media giant Twitter has quietly made a move that indicates the company is confident Elon Musk’s bid to buy the platform will go through.
“Twitter Inc. froze the equity awards accounts for employees on Monday as the deadline to seal a deal with Elon Musk approaches,” Bloomberg Law reported. “The social media company updated its employee FAQ page this week to alert staff that they won’t be able to access or trade shares from the Equity Award Center. The page said the change was done ‘in anticipation of the closing of the pending acquisition of Twitter by an entity controlled by Elon Musk,’ according to two people familiar with the change. This freeze allows Schwab to perform the final reconciliation of employee accounts.”
“In retrospect, it was inevitable,” Musk noted in a now-deleted tweet that contained a photoshop image of Musk, Kanye West, and former President Donald Trump as the “Three Musketeers” trying to save free speech in the country by buying up or starting social media platforms.
The apparent finalization of Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter comes after rapper West, now formally known as Ye, announced he was buying social media start-up Parler last week.
“Ye has become the richest Black man in history through music and apparel and is taking a bold stance against his recent censorship from Big Tech, using his far-reaching talents to further lead the fight to create a truly non-cancelable environment,” the platform noted in a statement.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to express ourselves freely,” Ye noted, according to the statement.
George Farmer, the husband of conservative author and podcaster Candace Owens, noted in a statement: “This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again. Once again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative. Parlement will be honored to help him achieve his goals.”
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Last week, Conservative Brief reported that federal agencies are investigating Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over his bid to purchase Twitter, according to legal filings by attorneys representing the company.
According to reports, it isn’t clear what federal authorities are investigating. But one report also noted that Twitter is seeking documents related to the probes, though it isn’t clear what is being sought, specifically. The request for documents was filed after Musk said he would buy the platform, noted the Washington Examiner.
“Elon Musk is presently under investigation by federal authorities for his conduct in connection with the acquisition of Twitter,” Twitter’s legal team said in an Oct. 6 legal filing with a Delaware court, according to Bloomberg. In addition, Twitter lawyers asked that Musk’s team also provide the same documents because they “bear upon key issues in this litigation.”
Earlier this month, Musk changed direction and offered to proceed with his original offer to buy Twitter, one of the world’s largest social media platforms. According to reports, Twitter trading on Wall Street halted after Musk’s announcement to go through with his original bid of $54.20 a share.
“Twitter shares jumped as much as 15% on Tuesday after Bloomberg first reported on the Tesla CEO’s plans to go forth with his deal to acquire the company. The stock was halted after the report,” CNBC reported at the time.
CNBC added:
A few weeks after Musk agreed to the deal earlier this year, valuing Twitter at $44 billion, he quickly tried to back out, officially informing the company in July of his intentions to terminate the agreement. Twitter sued Musk to force him to go through with the purchase. The two sides were scheduled to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.
Musk alleged that Twitter was misstating the number of “bots” on its service as one of the reasons he was reneging on the deal. He and his lawyers claimed that the social media company was misleading investors by providing false numbers in corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.