Twitter shares down 5% after Musk pulls out of $44B deal

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Twitter's shares were down almost 5% before US stock market opening on Monday after billionaire Elon Musk pulled out of his $44 billion deal to buy the social media company.

The stock price fell 4.9% to $35 per share at 8.00 a.m. EDT (1200GMT) after closing Friday at $36.81 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company's market value declined to approximately $28.1 billion for almost a $1.4 billion loss.

Tesla CEO Musk announced late Friday that he is pulling out of his deal to buy Twitter, citing a lack of information on bot accounts. Twitter, however, says it will take Musk to court to enforce the deal.

He said in May that the deal could not move forward until there is clarity on fake accounts.

Twitter’s board of directors unanimously advised shareholders on June 21 to approve Musk’s offer for the company.

Musk on June 16 said he wants Twitter to reach 1 billion users, but hinted at layoffs in his first meeting with company employees, and reiterated his demand for paid subscriptions, arguing that users should be charged to keep informed and be verified.