Billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin of Citadel has been added to the list of people subpoenaed by Twitter in its effort to force Elon Musk to complete his $44 billion Twitter buyout.
The subpoena was sent to Griffin after Musk’s lawyers requested recordings from the banks advising Twitter, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, to gather details on how these firms assisted Twitter during the deal negotiations with Musk.
Musk’s legal team wants the banks to hand over documents and conversations about their discussions on the merger proposal and Twitter’s financial condition. The subpoena also asks for information on any talks involving other potential Twitter buyers besides Musk.
According to the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs expected to earn $80 million advising Twitter but would only get $15 million if the deal fell through. JPMorgan stood to make $53 million but would receive just $5 million if Musk backed out.
These banks are not defendants in Twitter’s lawsuit, but the subpoenas raise the chance that embarrassing details could be exposed publicly.
When the Twitter deal was agreed upon in April, Wall Street reacted positively, calling it one of the deals of the year. But after the deal collapsed and both sides went to court, observers are growing concerned.
Both Elon Musk and Twitter are racing to gather evidence ahead of the October 17 trial. Musk claims he canceled the deal because Twitter failed to provide info on fake accounts. Twitter says Musk’s complaints are just an excuse to back out.
Twitter has also sought documents from Musk’s advisors, including Morgan Stanley and other banks that helped him secure financing for the deal. They’ve reached out to investors publicly backing Musk to raise the necessary funds. The company has since issued additional subpoenas including to Tesla and SpaceX, demanding any communications about the Twitter deal involving their CEO.
Binance is also caught up in the lawsuit. The crypto exchange invested $500 million when Musk raised $7.1 billion to finance the Twitter purchase in May. Twitter’s lawyers want details on that investment and Musk’s efforts to secure funding for the deal.
