For months now, both the legal and financial worlds have had their eyes glued to billionaire Elon Musk's theatrical attempt to purchase (or not) the social media giant Twitter.
Musk is now trying to back out of the $44 billion deal, claiming Twitter refused to provide him with vital information. Twitter is trying to force Musk to follow through on the purchase by taking him to court in Delaware, where earlier today a judge set an expedited trial date for October.
If this deal ultimately does go unconsummated, it may not be the only one. A contracting economy and tumbling stock markets mean that mergers and acquisitions that made sense during expansionary times may not make sense any longer.
On today's episode of On The Merits, our weekly legal news podcast, Bloomberg Law's Matthew Bultman and Bloomberg News' Ed Hammond discuss what the Delaware Chancery Court can really do in Twitter v. Musk, what happens if Musk loses this case, and why Twitter would even still want to be owned by someone who is publicly bashing the company.
They also talk about the rocky future for the broader deals market in an ailing economy—and what that may mean for the attorneys who rely on it for billable hours.
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