Imbroglio around the purchase of Twitter
On April 25, 2022, the entire board of directors of the company voted to approve the acquisition’administration of Twitter Inc. accepted Elon Musk’s takeover and privatization proposal for the company. À up to $44 billion, the one who had entered a few days earlier in the company’s shareholding (9.4% majority) was once again going to assuage his imprint in the tech world.
However, and while the’acquisition was legitimately subject to approval by various financial regulators, Musk announced he was putting the buyout “on hold” at.
Between insufficient developments, a financial health far from being sustainable and fratricidal competition from some other social networks in vogue, Twitter is facing a wall. Is Elon Musk in a position of strength, playing with the clock and putting the most famous bird on the web in great danger? ? More than that, the turnaround of the Pretoria, South Africa native can be explained. He is waiting, according to him, for the return of a study that could change many things, both for him and for the company.
Insufficient evolution ?
In recent months, the Twitter features have greatly evolved, especially thanks to the appearance of new buttons. Today and on social networks in general, the fashion is to gather between friends or between virtual acquaintances. This is the case when one wants to meet up outside, but also on modern platforms, such as private clubs to share games in the heart of popular entertainment like poker.
In concrete terms, joining virtually to share the same passion or exchange on a specific subject are two things that are perfectly in line with the times.
In this sense, Twitter has recently proposed the “Spaces”, a kind of voice flow where listeners and speakers exchange vocally. A success that blurs the moderate success of the groups to be created by the profiles themselves by gathering the same members of a community.
With targeted goals announced at the time of the acquisition, the whimsical billionaire Elon Musk had welcomed these new features while adding that in his opinion they were not enough. Encouraging for the regulars of the tweets who are, in spite of themselves, also suspended to the actions of the businessman and his numerous advisers.
If Elon Musk still seems, by his own account, ready to buy Twitter and put the acquisition back on track, he recently announced that he wants to wait for an analysis that he considers vital. The story does not start under the best auspices, but Musk wants to reassure. Depending on the results of the analyses that have been decried for several weeks, it could well return to the charge. But what does it concern ?
How many fake accounts on Twitter ?
Among the main motivations announced by Musk once he was at the head of Twitter, there was the somewhat disturbing idea of putting “freedom” back at the center of the application and the data it shares. A measure that leaves some doubt, when we know the abundance of dangerous and conspiratorial networks within the platform. Another interest put forward is to put an end to all fake accounts and BOTs, which are present in mass on Twitter, despite the hard work of developers.
According to Twitter, the fake accounts are not the only ones’established around the 5% mark. And that’s the flip side of the coin and the current discussion as Musk and his teams estimate them at 20%. The divergence is therefore more than important and that is why Musk has asked for a precise audit, the time to know the results and to validate, or not, the buyout.
An uncertainty that costs a lot of money to the social network and that could even hurt in the future, its potential future owner. If the interest for Musk is to lower the buyout price according to the announced figures, this little game is already dangerous for the company and its financial health.
Still listed on the stock exchange, the company lost 20% on the first day after the announcement of the break of the buyout alone. Musk is calling for more transparency, but clearly he is playing with fire.