Twitter has reportedly lawyered up by hiring a leading merger legal firm as it moves ahead with plans to sue Elon Musk over his decision to withdraw from a $44bn (£37bn) takeover deal.

Bloomberg reported the social media platform intended to file a lawsuit in the next few days as it tries to force Mr Musk to go through with the deal, citing sources who spoke condition of anonymity.

Twitter has engaged Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, whose staff includes the former chancellor of the Delaware Chancery Court, where the legal battle will play out.

Leo Strine also served as chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court prior to joining the lawfirm in 2019.

On Friday, Mr Musk indicated in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he wanted to pull out of the deal.

He has repeatedly accused the platform of misrepresenting the number of fake accounts on its site.

Twitter’s board chair Bret Taylor responded y saying the company would pursue legal action to force Mr Musk to complete the sale.

The deal between Twitter and Mr Musk had included a $1bn breakup fee, to be paid by the billionaire if the deal failed to go through.

Mr Musk “tripled down” on his claim that Twitter was under-reporting the number of spam accounts on its platform during an address to tech moguls, according to a new report.

Mr Musk told a high-powered audience of media executives at the Allen & Co Sun Valley Conference in Idaho on Saturday that the decision was “about bots”, CNN reported.

On its website, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz said it handles “some of the largest, most complex and demanding transactions in the United States and around the world”.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.