Billionaires, VCs Sucked Into Twitter v Musk; Check Full List
The two sides have subpoenaed a Who's Who of big Wall Street and Silicon Valley names in their fight over Musk's $44 billion takeover bid.
Updated on: Aug 17 2022, 00:32 IST
By BLOOMBERG
The social media company is on the hunt for any evidence that shows Musk’s claim that he pulled the plug on the deal over bot accounts is just pretext. (AFP)
Ken Griffin’s on the list. So are Larry Ellison and Marc Andreessen. Not to mention Morgan Stanley and Sequoia Capital. Twitter Inc. is subpoenaing a veritable Who’s Who of Wall Street and Silicon Valley as part of its legal battle to force Elon Musk to complete his proposed $44 billion acquisition. The social media company is on the hunt for any evidence that shows Musk’s claim that he pulled the plug on the deal over bot accounts is just pretext — investors, bankers, friends or anyone else Musk might have spoken to about the deal are fair game.
Musk has sent out his own subpoenas, though many fewer, seeking evidence that Twitter failed to provide him with accurate information about bot accounts.
Here’s who each side has subpoenaed so far:
Twitter’s Subpoenas
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Ellison, Oracle Corp. chairman whose trust committed $1 billion to Musk’s bid. His investment firm, Lawrence Investments, was also subpoenaed
Griffin, Citadel CEO whom Twitter describes as an “actual or potential” co-investor in the equity financing for the deal
Andreessen, Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose firm was an equity backer of Musk’s bid
Steve Jurvetson, venture capitalist, SpaceX and former Tesla board member. His firm, DFJ Growth IV Partners, committed equity financing
Joe Lonsdale, Palantir Technologies Inc. co-founder whose investment firm Eight Partners VC LLC is not known to have been a part of deal. Lonsdale has tweeted that he had 'nothing to do' with the legal battle and called the subpoenas “a giant harassing fishing expedition”
Patrick O’Malley III, whom Twitter describes as an adviser to Musk
David O. Sacks, venture capitalist, former PayPal COO and longtime Musk associate who has tweeted critically of Twitter. He said on his podcast that he has no involvement in the transaction and that he plans on hiring a lawyer to quash the subpoena
Kristina Salen, former CFO for World Wrestling Entertainment and Etsy who Twitter says advised Musk on deal
Philip B. Simon, trustee for Ellison
Bob Swan, former Intel Corp. CEO and Andreessen partner who advised Musk on deal but was sidelined because they “weren’t on the same wavelength,” according to the lawsuit
Antonio Gracias, venture capitalist, former SpaceX and Tesla board member, and Musk pal who Twitter said in its lawsuit was meant to have taken over the financing effort from Swan but “never appeared”
Firms Committed to Providing or Potentially Providing Equity Finance
AH Capital Management LLC, Andreessen’s investment firm that committed $400 million and also advised on the deal, per the subpoenas
A.M. Management and Consulting LLC, a VC firm that committed $25 million
Aliya Capital Partners, a Miami-based multi-family office and previous Tesla and SpaceX investor that committed $360 million
BAM Trading Services Inc., unit of crypto exchange Binance that committed $500 million to Musk’s bid
BAMCO Inc., a unit of Baron Capital Management Inc., that committed $100 million
Bandera Partners LLC, a hedge fund that owns Twitter shares and was identified as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Benefit Street Partners LLC, a credit-focused money manager named as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Brookfield Asset Management LLC, investment management firm that committed $250 million
Cartenna Capital LP, Connecticut hedge fund that committed $9 million
DFJ Growth IV Partners, Jurvetson's VC fund that committed $100 million
Factorial Funds LLC, VC and asset management firm described as an “actual or potential' co-investor
Fidelity Management & Research Co., investment firm that committed $316.1 million
The Founders Fund Growth II Management, VC fund owned by PayPal co-founder and longtime friend to Musk Peter Thiel. The subpoena identifies the firm as “actual or potential co-investor” in the deal
Honeycomb Asset Management LP, hedge fund that committed $5 million
J. Safra Asset Management Corp., an investment advisor that is part of the Safra Group of companies controlled by the Safra family. It’s identified as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Key Wealth Advisors, investment management firm that committed $30 million
Linda Ye and Robin Ren Family Foundation, the charity organization founded by former Tesla executive Robin Ren and an “actual or potential” co-investor
LITANI Ventures LLC, family office of RXBar founder Peter Rahal, which committed $25 million
Manhattan Venture Partners LLC, venture capital firm identified as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Mirae Asset USA LLC, US unit of a Korean financial services group and an “actual or potential” co-investor
Sequoia Capital Fund LP, VC firm that pledged $800 million to back Musk’s bid
Tomales Bay Capital, investment firm involved in a failed deal to buy a piece of Musk’s space flight company SpaceX. It was described in the subpoena as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Tru Arrow Technology Partners I, a private equity firm described as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Vy Capital Holdings LP, Alexander Tamas’s Dubai-based investment firm that committed $700 million
Witkoff Capital LLC, developer Steven Witkoff’s family office that committed $100 million
Section 32 LLC, a VC firm run by former Google Ventures CEO Bill Maris and identified as an “actual or potential” co-investor
Data Firms
TaskUs USA, a content moderation company
Concentrix Solutions Corporation, a data analytics firm