The Information reported on Thursday (28th) that Tesla CEO Elon Musk initially announced that his 9% stake in Twitter was suspected of violations, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether he violated federal disclosure rules.
Sources pointed out that the FTC is investigating whether Musk complied with the US HSR (Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act) antitrust law when he bought Twitter shares in early April, which requires investors to provide the FTC and the Justice Department with “advance filings.” .” Applies to active investors who are taking a large stake in a company.
Musk began buying Twitter shares on January 31 and filed a 13G form for general “passive” investors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, holding a 9.1% stake, the largest on Twitter. individual shareholders.
Just a day later, Musk resubmitted a 13D form for “active” investors involved in corporate governance on April 5, signaling his intention to become more active in Twitter’s business.
The FTC wants to review communications between Musk and Twitter’s board to assess his motives for buying shares and whether Musk’s purchases of Twitter stock are purely passive investments or to influence Twitter management, the sources said.
If the FTC determines that Musk has not properly disclosed his investments, he could face fines of up to $43,792 a day, though that may be paltry for the world’s richest man.
Twitter on Monday (25th) agreed to the world’s richest man Musk’s all-cash acquisition and privatization proposal at a price of $54.2 per share, or about $44 billion, and plans to complete before 5 pm on October 24, 2022 this transaction.
The Open Markets Institute, a U.S. think tank, on Thursday called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to block Musk’s acquisition of Twitter as a threat to American democracy and free speech direct threat. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr responded that the FCC has no authority to prevent Musk from acquiring Twitter.
Twitter (TWTR-US) rose 1.09 percent to $49.11 a share on Thursday, snapping a two-session losing streak.