Musk had been publicly questioning Twitter's figures for weeks, which many analysts saw as an attempt to drive down share prices in the tech giant. Twitter shares plunged by over 6% in after-hours trading following the announcement. Since mid-May Musk has focused on Twitter's allegedly false estimates of the number of bots and fake accounts using the service, declaring the takeover deal suspended as a result. Musk's lawyers claimed in an SEC filing made public on Friday that Twitter failed to provide Musk and his staff with the necessary data to verify their claims on fake account numbers, saying that their failure to do so constituted a breach of contract, allowing Musk to walk away from the deal. Twitter appears to want to force through the sale at the agreed price, however, and signalled it was ready to take the matter to court. "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement," Twitter board chairman Bret Taylor tweeted on Friday shortly after the news broke. Musk and Twitter agreed a $1-billion penalty payable by any party withdrawing from the deal, though if Twitter intends to force through the purchase under the agreed terms, things could become very difficult for Musk. In his bid to buy the tech giant, Musk offered Twitter shareholders $54.20 per share, which would be a good deal for them as even before Musk's announcement on Friday, stock was trading at just $36.81. Some analysts have speculated that Musk was no longer willing to stick to his original offer in view of the fall in Twitter stock value since he made his bid, and has been looking for a way out of the $44-billion deal ever since.