Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) stock is in focus, as shareholders voted to approve Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company at $54.20 per share at a special meeting. The outcome will send the fate of Twitter’s ownership to Delaware’s Chancery court on Oct. 17. The shareholder meeting was only seven minutes long, while voting took three minutes. Shareholders were allowed to vote several weeks prior to the special meeting. In addition, the outcome was expected, as Twitter’s board recommended that shareholders approve the decision.
Musk had recently sought to cancel his buyout based on a severance payment to Twitter whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. Twitter paid Zatko $7.75 million following his departure as head of security, which Musk’s lawyers argued violated the buyout agreement. The lawyers stated that Twitter must inform Musk before making any such payment. In response, Twitter quipped back that Musk’s claims were “invalid and wrongful.” Previously, Musk argued that Twitter had misrepresented its bot user base at 5% or less of all monetizable daily active users.
TWTR Stock: Shareholders Approve Acquisition While Zatko Testifies
Today, Zatko testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The whistleblower has also received a subpoena to testify in the Oct. 17 lawsuit. At the hearing, Zatko accused Twitter of having weak cybersecurity measures, unorganized management, and prioritizing profit over security.
Zatko also accused CEO Parag Agrawal and other Twitter executives and board members of making “false and misleading statements to users and the FTC about the Twitter platform’s security, privacy and integrity.”
It was also revealed that the FBI had informed Twitter that it had at least one alleged Chinese spy working at its offices. Zatko had previously alleged that Twitter knowingly had an Indian government agent employee that had access to user data. While Zatko was still at Twitter, he brought his concerns to an executive, who allegedly replied: “Well, since we already have one, what does it matter if we have more?” It’s not clear if the Chinese spy is still under Twitter’s payroll.
Agrawal was not present at the hearing, stating that his appearance could have detrimental effects on the upcoming Delaware court case. However, Senator Chuck Grassley implied that Agrawal should step down if Zatko’s accusations are true.
Shares of TWTR stock are up about 6% in the past five trading days and up about 1% today.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
