Twitter execs brace for fireworks at investor meeting amid takeover chaos

theguardian.com:

Twitter braced for fireworks as its regularly scheduled shareholder meeting kicked off, even though the gathering on Wednesday will not include a vote on billionaire Elon Musk’s $44bn bid for the social platform.

Twitter investors on Wednesday voted in favor of creating reports on electoral spending and on risks of using concealment clauses. Shareholders followed management advice to vote against other proposals, including one that would commission a report on company lobbying expenditures.

The company avoided a vote on the bigger question of the Tesla CEO’s takeover plan – a referendum that will take place at a yet-undetermined date in the future– but the drama surrounding his offer might spill over into today’s proceedings anyway.

Musk in April reached a deal to buy the social media platform at $54.20 a share. But he said in May the deal cannot progress until the platform proves that fewer than 5% of its users are fake or spam accounts.

The sharp turnaround by the world’s richest man makes little sense except as a tactic to scuttle or renegotiate a deal that is becoming increasingly costly for him, experts said last week. That the discussions are playing out publicly, on Twitter no less, only adds to the chaos. Experts say Musk cannot unilaterally place the deal on hold. If Musks walks away, he could be on the hook for a $1bn breakup fee. Alternatively, Twitter could sue Musk to force him to proceed with the deal, although experts think that is highly unlikely.

Twitter investors are set to vote on five stockholder proposals on Wednesday, all opposed by management. The proposals include asking the company to produce a report on its impact on civil rights and another on its lobbying activities.

Even if shareholders approve