Prasannkumar 
Elon Musk under federal investigation for $44 bn Twitter takeover deal
Twitter sued Musk in July to force him into closing the deal. It claimed that lawyers for Tesla Inc CEO Stephen Musk had claimed “investigative confidentiality” when refusing documents.
Federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk’s conduct in the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Inc., according to a Thursday court filing.
Although the filing stated that he was being investigated, it didn’t specify what probes were being conducted or the federal authorities involved.
Twitter sued Musk in July to force him into closing the deal. It claimed that lawyers for Tesla Inc CEO Stephen Musk had claimed “investigative confidentiality” when refusing documents.
Twitter reported that Musk’s lawyers had given a “privilege Log” to identify documents that should be withheld in September. The log referred to drafts of an email sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 13, and a slide presentation sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
A court filing asking a Delaware judge for Musk’s lawyers to produce the documents was filed on Oct. 6. This was the same day as the judge who paused litigation after Musk changed his mind and stated that he would continue with the deal.
The company stated in court filing that “this game of hiding the ball must end.”
Alex Spiro was an attorney for Musk and said to Reuters that Twitter’s court file was a “misdirection.” Twitter declined to comment on Spiro’s response or to Reuters queries regarding its understanding of any investigation into Musk.
The SEC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and the FTC declined comment.
The SEC has asked Musk about his comments regarding the Twitter acquisition. The SEC questioned Musk in April about whether his 9% Twitter stake had been disclosed late and why it suggested that he was a passive shareholder. Musk later amended the disclosure to show that he was an active investor.
Musk was asked by the SEC in June if he should have changed his public filing to reflect his intent to suspend or terminate the deal.
The Information, a tech news website, reported that in April, the FTC was looking into whether Musk had failed to report on antitrust requirements as he acquired his share in Twitter.
Twitter stated in June that the Musk takeover agreement had passed the antitrust waiting period and was now open for review by the FTC (US Justice Department).
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