Twitter has attempted to regain the initiative in its takeover battle with Tesla chief executive and billionaire Elon Musk by landing him with a very long and detailed lawsuit.
Examples of the target suing the bidder to force through a deal are rare, but that is the latest twist in this convoluted tale.
Musk abandoned his US$44bn bid at the weekend, citing unhappiness with a lack of disclosure over the number of bots or fake accounts using the social media giant’s site.
In response, Twitter last night issued a 62-page writ in a Delaware court to hold Musk to the original terms of his $54.20 a share bid.
"Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," said the complaint, which was reported by Reuters this morning.
Included were a series of alleged violations of the original takeover agreement between the two, which the social media group said had cast “a pall over Twitter and its business”.
The lawsuit also contained several of Musk’s own Twitter messages that are alleged to violate the “non-disparagement” clause of the original deal.
"For Musk, it would seem, Twitter, the interests of its stockholders, the transaction Musk agreed to, and the court process to enforce it all constitute an elaborate joke," the writ said.
“Rather than bear the cost of the market downturn, as the merger agreement requires, Musk wants to shift it to Twitter’s stockholder,” stated the court filing.
Twitter also accused Musk of accumulating shares in the company between January and March without disclosing the stakebuilding.
According to Reuters, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has written to staff to say it would prove its position in court, where it has filed for a hearing in September.
Shares in Twitter have tumbled since May when Musk first intimated he might walk away from the deal unless he got the bot information he wanted.
They now trade at around US$34, or 35% below Musk’s offer, though some say without the interest from the Tesla boss they would be lower still (read more).
Analysts at US broker Wedbush wrote: "This will be a Game of Thrones battle in court with the fake account/bot issue front and center, but ultimately Twitter's board is holding Musk's feet to the fire to finish the deal at the agreed upon price.
"Overall this has been a black eye for Musk and horror movie for Twitter (and its employees) with no winners since the soap opera began in April.
"There are a range of possibilities that can come from the Delaware court including settlement, breakup fee paid, deal enforced, and a myriad of other outcomes."