Elon Musk's Twitter Deal in Jeopardy

Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is in serious jeopardy as Musk's team has concluded that Twitter's data on spam accounts cannot be verified.

Musk's team has stopped engaging in some discussions about funding the $44 billion deal, including with one of the parties named as a likely backer, one of the people interviewed said. These people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions.

Now that Musk's team has come to the conclusion that it cannot verify Twitter's data on spam accounts. It is expected to take potentially drastic action. One source said that Musk's team is likely to change its direction soon, although he did not say what exactly those changes would involve.

Aside from the spamming of accounts on which Musk could pull out of the deal is Twitter's share price. It has fallen sharply since his takeover bid in April, giving the impression that he may pay more than the real value

That said, the terms of the deal will not let Musk walk away easily. Musk has agreed to complete the deal if nothing serious happens to Twitter's business, and legal experts doubt the bot issue can qualify. It would also be to Twitter's advantage, according to experts, for the deal to go through. Twitter has stated that it intends to complete the deal. Even if Musk convinces a judge to let him walk away, he could still be on the hook for a $1 billion break-up fee.

Twitter spokesman Brian Poliakoff declined to comment, but referred to a statement from the company in June:

Twitter has and will continue to cooperatively share information with Mr. Musk to consummate the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement. We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders. We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms.

Musk made no comment on this situation.

Twitter plans to meet Musk's data demands.