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- According to reports, the Biden administration considered an official review of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.
- Bloomberg reports that the White House was concerned about foreign investors.
- Its investors include Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration was considering submitting Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover for an official review to address national security concerns.
People familiar with the matter said that they were concerned about foreign nationals financing the deal being able to access user data on Twitter. Bloomberg was also informed by people familiar with the matter.
Musk's Twitter investors include Changpeng Zhao (the Binance CEO); Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal; and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
According to SEC filings, Musk's $44B takeover was funded by $375 million from the sovereign wealth fund. According to SEC filings, Binance contributed $500 million to the deal while bin Talal pledged to buy nearly 35 million shares for $1.9 billion.
Bloomberg reported that some in the Biden administration were considering whether Musk's deal should have been brought before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. This committee can block business transactions due to security concerns.
The outlet stated that this was a legal decision by the Treasury, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Insider reported that Musk was photographed with the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, just hours before he tweeted a poll asking whether he should resign as Twitter boss.
The BBC asked Musk about the timing of his poll and whether Twitter investors in Middle East might have called a meeting to challenge his management.
Bloomberg was later informed by QIA's boss that he trusted his leadership to turn the company around.
According to Bloomberg, top Biden officials fear that Musk may be too powerful to control because of his vast business empire. He has, for example, been able to influence the war in Ukraine through Starlink's use to communicate and has increased prices.
Insider asked Twitter for comments on its concerns about the government. Twitter replied with a poop emoticon – an auto-reply Musk declared Sunday.
The White House did no immediate respond to Insider's request, which was sent outside of US working hours.
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By: psyme@insider.com (Pete Syme)
Title: The Biden administration considered probing Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase over national security concerns, report says
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/biden-considered-review-of-elon-musks-twitter-purchase-report-2023-3
Published Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:54:16 +0000
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