Starting October 17, Twitter and Elon Musk are set to go on trial in Delaware Chancery Court. The trial is part of the social media's move to force Musk to proceed with the $44 billion takeover deal.
Amid the upcoming trial, and issues of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with Twitter, majority of the social media's shareholders voted in favor of Musk's bid for takeover, according to Reuters.
Shareholders Voted in Favor of Elon Musk's Takeover Amid the Upcoming Trial
According to CNET, the deadline for the shareholder's vote regarding the $44 billion takeover deal is on 10 a.m. PT on Tuesday. However, based on the early tally, there are enough votes accumulated by Monday to predict the possible result.
Reports said that the board of directors of the social media company has "urged" the shareholders to greenlight the deal.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, both Twitter and Musk representatives refused to comment on the issue.
The shareholders' voting happened in the middle of a legal battle between Musk and Twitter.
The billionaire offered to buy Twitter earlier this year for $44 billion. However, he eventually announced that he is walking away from the deal.
Musk cited that his reason for backing out of the deal is because Twitter has misled him about the number of spam or fake accounts on the platform.
Likewise, he said that the social media has violated the merger agreement when it did not disclose that it pay former security head Peiter Zatko a $7.75 million settlement fee.
As a response to Musk decision to back out from the deal, Twitter filed a lawsuit in July. The lawsuit is after enforcing the merger agreement.
According to CNET, the billionaire is allegedly attempting to get out of the deal because "his personal wealth has fallen" and "the purchase has become more expensive."
Read Also: Elon Musk Got Into a Twitter Fight - What Does His Now Deleted Tweet Say?
Shareholders' Choice is Widely Expected Given the Stock Market Downturn
According to Reuters, the shareholders' voting coincides on the day Zatko is scheduled to testify before a Senate panel.
Zakto is set to answer the Senate panel inquiries regarding the security and privacy problems of Twitter that he uncovered while working at the company.
In a statement issued earlier on Monday, Twitter said that they did not breach any terms in the merger agreement when they made the payment to a whistleblower.
However, Musk's lawyers said last week that Twitter violated the merger agreement when it failed to "seek Musk's consent before paying $7.75 million to whistleblower Zatko."
Twitter fired Zatko in January as the company's security head. Last month, he threw accusations that the social media company is "falsely claiming it had a solid security plan."
Moreover, Zatko accused Twitter that it is issuing misleading statements regarding its defenses against hackers and spam accounts.
Amid all the issues Twitter is facing, it is expected that shareholders will vote in favor of the deal.
With the current stock market downturn of the company's share, Musk's $54.20-per-share deal for Twitter seems beneficial for the company. The share of Twitter is now playing at $41.
Related Article: Elon Musk Puts Twitter's $44 Billion Deal 'On Hold' Following Pending Details on Fake Accounts
