FirstFT: Twitter sues to force Elon Musk to complete $44bn deal

Twitter has asked a Delaware court to force billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to honour his $44bn agreement to buy the social media company.

In a complaint filed in Delaware chancery court on Tuesday, lawyers for Twitter said Musk should be compelled to complete the merger at the $54.20 per share price agreed when the deal was struck in late April.

“Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, 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,” according to the complaint.

“This repudiation follows a long list of material contractual breaches by Musk that have cast a pall over Twitter and its business,” it added.

The move sets the stage for a messy legal battle between the Silicon Valley company and one of its most prolific and powerful users.

Do you think Musk should be compelled to honour his deal to buy Twitter? Let me know what you think at firstft@ft.com. Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia. — Emily

Five more stories in the news

1. Nato and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling The two blocs are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Ukraine in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market.

2. Trump pressed election fraud claims despite advisers’ doubts Donald Trump was told by almost all of his close advisers that he had lost the 2020 US election and yet continued to insist it had been stolen, a congressional committee has heard. Trump’s advisers screamed at each other during an “unhinged” White House meeting in December 2020 as they argued over whether the former president should concede the presidential election, witnesses said.

3. BYD shares tumble Shares in Chinese electric carmaker BYD fell 12 per cent after a stake close to the size of Berkshire Hathaway’s appeared in the Hong Kong stock exchange clearing system. Berkshire told investors in February that it owned a 7.7 per cent stake in the company, valued at $7.7bn. Last week BYD overtook Tesla to become the world’s biggest electric vehicle producer by sales.

4. US and Japan to tackle exchange volatility The US and Japan have agreed to “co-operate as appropriate” to address the falling value of the yen against the dollar after a meeting between US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and her Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki.

5. Singapore’s Temasek to slow pace of investment Singapore state-owned fund Temasek, one of the world’s largest investors, reported a sharp drop in returns and warned it would be “cautious” about new investment amid a deteriorating economic outlook. Temasek said that downturns in China and the technology sector in particular had weighed down on its performance.

The day ahead

New Zealand and South Korea rate setting meetings Policymakers at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Bank of Korea will meet tomorrow to set interest rates. Both are expected to deliver 50 basis point rate hikes as they fight inflation, according to recent polls. (Reuters)

China trade figures Amid rising prices, global trade has weakened. This will probably affect the country’s June trade data set to be released today. (Bloomberg)

Kamala Harris speaks to the Pacific Islands Forum The vice-president is expected to announce the US’s plans to open embassies in Kiribati and Tonga and to ask Congress for more money to help Pacific island nations tackle illegal fishing in its latest effort to push back against China in the Indo-Pacific.

Voting begins in Conservative party leadership race MPs will begin voting for the party’s next leader today. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak has emerged as the favourite. Here are the eight candidates in the race to be the UK’s next prime minister.

What else we’re reading

Abe’s death gives Kishida a chance to make his mark The assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, has left a profound void in the governing Liberal Democratic party — and created an extraordinary opportunity for prime minister Fumio Kishida to stamp his own mark on Japanese politics.

Webb telescope images reveal dance of ancient galaxies Space scientists have revealed a series of stunning images from the first observing run of the James Webb Space Telescope, including five galaxies engaged in a brilliant cosmic dance and a nebula exploding around a pair of dying stars.

The new agricultural frontier After years of laboratory testing, companies are now racing to scale up their operations for the commercial production of plants, and hoping to beat competitors to a dominant share of what could be a vast market.

Executives seek briefings on Taiwan war risk Company executives are increasingly concerned about the possibility of war over Taiwan, according to consultants who have seen a sharp rise in demand for briefings following the invasion of Ukraine.

Lipsticks, lattes and labradors: JAB’s bet on pets After spending more than $50bn on coffee chains, restaurants and cosmetic companies, the European group has found a cute solution to boosting its mixed returns: pets. But its investments in vets and insurance are under scrutiny from competition officials.

Art

Should artists have a stake in their own work? The resurgent $65bn art market has led to rampant speculation around the work of young artists — who see little of the profit.