At least one of Twitter's landlords has been forced to draw down on letters of credit (L/Cs) as the social media platform fails to pay rent for its US offices.

The firm acquired by Elon Musk in October for US$44 billion - supported by US$12.5 billion in debt financing - is also facing legal action in the UK for non-payment of office rent.

Since his takeover of Twitter, Musk has been slashing costs, including by firing about half of its 7,500-strong workforce and stripping the benefits of staff who remained, as well as refusing to pay several outstanding bills.

Overdue rent

Twitter failed to pay nearly US$6.8 million in rent on its San Francisco headquarters in December and January, according to a lawsuit filed by the landlord, Sri Nine Market Square.

It says in a court filing that it obtained December's rent from most of Twitter's US$3.6 million L/C security deposit, but the company still has US$3.1 million rent outstanding for January.

L/C increase refused

The landlord is also seeking through the courts to increase Twitter's L/C to US$10 million. It says the lease provides for a rent increase in the event of the transfer of control of the company, but says Twitter has refused engage in such a process.

Twitter also owes rent in the UK to the Crown Estate, which manages a diverse portfolio of UK buildings, shoreline, seabed, forestry, agricultural and other land that is ultimately owned by the British monarch. It has filed a suit against Twitter over its London premises, according to court filings.

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