Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is to give in to Elon Musk's demands for data on fake accounts after the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss threatened to walk away from his proposed $44 bln takeover of the social media company.
The company will allow access to a stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted every day, according to reports.
Although the Tesla chief committed to purchase Twitter in April, he has become more vocal about possible bot activity on the platform, in what some perceive as an attempt to renegotiate acquisition terms.
On Monday he threatened to walk away from the deal if the data was not provided.
Musk claimed in a SEC filing on Monday, Twitter breached the April agreement by failing to provide him with sufficient data on automated accounts, rejecting Twitter's offer to provide details on internal studies.
Twitter is, however, confident the deal will go smoothly, as an executive recently assured employees the deal is proceeding normally and shareholder vote will be held in late July or early August, reported Bloomberg.
Some analysts speculate Musk plans to renege because he committed more than US$33bn of his own money to buy Twitter, most of which was tied to falling Tesla shares.
Though market skepticism persists about the US$44bn Twitter deal, as the stock trades well below Musk's US$54.20 price, the access is intended to move the stalled deal ahead.
The social media granted the access a day after shareholder John Solak, who owns five shares, sued the company in Delaware Chancery Court to compel it to share internal documents about Musk's request for information.
Solak alleged Twitter violated its duty to investors by failing to properly disclose the number of bots among its 230mln users.
Musk's proposed takeover of Twitter incudes a US$1bn breakup fee, as well as a provision that allows the company to force him to complete the acquisition.
If either side sues, a court could order Musk to close the deal.