MEMBER HIGHLIGHT - SER member Gontran de Quillacq authored an article titled “Two Tweets, $2.6 Billion Damages.” He looks at the recent securities verdict arising from Elon Musk’s 2022 tweets about his pending acquisition of Twitter and explains how those statements became the basis for what plaintiffs’ counsel described as the largest securities jury verdict in U.S. history. He describes how Musk’s public comments disrupted the merger-arbitrage spread, contributed to a sharp decline in Twitter’s share price, and ultimately supported a finding that the tweets were materially false or misleading under Rule 10b-5. He also explains how damages were calculated across the class period using event-study methodology and why the case is significant for market participants, litigators, and compliance professionals. More broadly, he argues that the verdict underscores the legal and financial consequences of executive social media posts in live transactions, particularly when market-moving statements go beyond what the available evidence supports. Gontran is the Managing Partner of Navesink International. You can read the full article on his website along with other insights on his blog.
Members: To submit a news item to the Newsroom, first log in, then return to this page and press the button that will appear here.
