Even as the sale of Twitter has been confirmed to billionaire Elon Musk for $44 billion, the purchase of initial 9% stake in the company before the takeover is being probed, said a news report.
The investigation is being carried out by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said a report of The Information on Thursday.
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This comes as the sale was announced recently. The shareholders are reportedly going to receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter stock they own as per the deal.
So, what is the FTC looking for? It is checking the compliance of an antitrust reporting requirement by Musk while buying the stake in Twitter in early April, the report said, citing people familiar with the development.
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If the rules about reporting significant stock purchases is not followed, the companies can be fined up to $43,792 per day.
The inquiry of the FTC focusses on whether Musk bought the stake to influence management of Twitter or he wanted to be a passive shareholder, the report said.
However, Musk had characterised his stake as passive in his April 4 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
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(With inputs from agencies)
