Elon Musk has said his $44bn deal to buy Twitter is on hold after he queried the number of fake or spam accounts on the social media platform, according to the BBC.
The report said he was waiting for information ‘supporting [the] calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users’.
Musk has been vocal on cleaning up spam accounts, according to the BBC.
Analysts speculated, however, that he could be seeking to renegotiate the price or even walk away from the takeover.
Musk was quoted as saying that he was ‘still committed to acquisition’, but the BBC said the disclosures fuelled Wall Street doubts, sending Twitter’s share price plunging.
Shares were down 10% in morning trade in New York yesterday.
Under the terms of the deal, if either Twitter or Musk walk away they must pay the other side a termination fee of $1bn.
Twitter reported more than two weeks ago that fake accounts accounted for fewer than 5% of its daily active users during the first three months of this year.