Bad taste: Elon Musk’s £38billion takeover of Twitter faced more difficulties
Elon Musk’s £38billion takeover of Twitter faced more difficulties after he suggested it could be blocked by President Biden.
The US president’s officials are considering probing the deal on national security grounds, according to a report yesterday.
Twitter shares dropped after Bloomberg said the buyout could be reviewed over its foreign backers, including Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and China-linked crypto-currency exchange Binance.
There are also wider concerns about Musk’s ventures, including SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network.
US officials are thought to be uncomfortable with the 51- year-old tycoon’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine, as well as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance on social media.
Musk, the world’s richest man with a £185billion fortune, admitted this week he was ‘obviously overpaying’ for Twitter.
The South African appeared to endorse a social media post suggesting it would be ‘hysterical’ if the US government saved him from having to buy the site. In response to the tweet, he posted a laughing face and a ‘100 per cent’ emoji.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said it is ’50-50′ whether a formal probe is launched, adding that there ‘is definitely enough smoke for there to be a fire’.
It comes amid reports claiming Musk will get rid of three quarters of Twitter’s 7,500 staff after the takeover.
