TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Can A Court Order Force Elon Musk To Complete Twitter Deal

Can A Court Order Force Elon Musk To Complete Twitter Deal

Twitter has asked the Delaware court to grant "specific performance" under the terms of its contract with Elon Musk to complete the acquisition at the agreed price of $54.20 a share.

Twitter Inc has sued Elon Musk to force him to go through with the $44 billion acquisition of the social media company. What happens if Twitter succeeds and the world's richest man, who regularly taunts securities regulators, refuses to comply with the court order?

CAN A COURT ORDER MUSK TO BUY TWITTER?


Twitter is asking a Delaware court to grant "specific performance" under the terms of its contract with Musk - in other words, force him to complete the acquisition at the agreed price of $54.20 a share.

The court has issued such orders before. Chicken processor Tyson Foods Inc was ordered in 2001 to complete its $3.2 billion deal for meatpacker IBP Inc. Last year the court ordered private equity firm Kohlberg & Co LLC to close its $550 million purchase of DecoPac Holding Inc, which makes cake decorating products.

But the buyers in these instances were companies rather than an individual. Never has such specific performance been granted on a deal of this scale.

WHAT IF MUSK RESISTS?


The legal battle between Musk and Twitter will play out in Delaware's Court of Chancery, which is specified in the merger agreement for disputes.

Delaware is also a popular incorporation destination for most U.S. public companies, including Tesla Inc and other Musk companies such as tunneling venture the Boring Co and Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX.

That gives the court jurisdiction over a vast amount of Musk assets to coerce compliance if needed. Lawyers said the court would begin by holding Musk in contempt and issuing fines until he did as ordered.

"The court has capacious powers to enforce its orders," said Francis Pileggi, an attorney with Lewis Brisbois in Wilmington, Delaware.

If Musk continued to ignore a judgment, the court could order Tesla and other Delaware-incorporated companies in which Musk owns a stake to freeze his assets or turn over shares.

"He'd be treated like a deadbeat dad not paying child support," said Minor Myers, a professor of UConn School of Law. "It would not be that hard."

WHAT HAS THE COURT DONE IN THE PAST?


When Delaware-incorporated ZST Digital Networks Inc was sued in Delaware in 2012 by one of its largest outside shareholders for access to its books amid accounting irregularities, the Chinese company refused to comply. Travis Laster, a vice chancellor or judge on the Court of Chancery, appointed a receiver of the company to force it to turn over the records. He also allowed the receiver to seek to arrest executives if they visited the United States.

The court has also forced companies to comply with orders by warning directors they will be held personally liable for accumulating fines.

Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School, said there are plenty of examples of individuals opposed to the court's rulings who use appeals to drag out complying. But they eventually obey court orders and she expects Musk will as well.

"He's not actually insane," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×