Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter Inc., Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy stated on Monday that he wants a US national security assessment of a Saudi Arabian conglomerate’s involvement in the social media business.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which examines foreign buyers’ purchases of US companies, has been tasked by Murphy to “perform an inquiry into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s purchase of Twitter.”
Most foreign investors who want to acquire even noncontrolling holdings in US businesses must first obtain CFIUS approval. This influential Treasury-led committee examines deals for potential national security risks and has the authority to halt them.
According to a tweet from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia and the prince’s private office announced on Friday that they will keep holding shares of Twitter worth $1.89 billion.
According to the announcement, “the deal is consistent with the long-term investment approach for which Kingdom Holding Company is known.”
The national wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, owns 16.9% of Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding.
We should be concerned that Saudi Arabia is now the second-largest owner of a significant social media platform, Murphy said on Twitter, adding that they have a “obvious interest in limiting political discourse and influence US politics.” A blatant national security problem is at stake, and CFIUS
The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to react right away. A request for comment from Twitter did not immediately receive a response. A spokesperson for CFIUS, which is overseen by the US Treasury, declined to comment.
The $44 billion deal to take Twitter private that Musk announced in April was finalized last week. A total of 13 billion dollars in debt funding has been committed by banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp.
