Twitter acquisition calls for a “national security” investigation into Saudi…

Twitter acquisition calls for a “national security” investigation into Saudi participation

The U.S. Senate pointed out that Tesla CEO Elon Musk should investigate the impact on national security, fearing that Saudi Arabia’s funds were included in the Twitter acquisition process.

According to CNN on the 31st (local time), Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that a federal investigation is needed into the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), led by Saudi Prince Alwalid bin Talal, participated in the Twitter acquisition process.

Senator Murphy tweeted, “We should be concerned that Saudi Arabia, which has a clear interest in suppressing political remarks and influencing U.S. politics, is now the second-largest shareholder of major social media platforms.”

He argued that the U.S. Foreign Investment Review Committee (CFIUS), which reviews foreign capital’s investment in the U.S., should investigate the impact of Saudi capital’s participation in the Twitter acquisition on national security.

Earlier, Prince Bin Talal said he would keep his position as the second-largest shareholder even after Musk took over Twitter. KHC holds a stake in Twitter worth about $1.89 billion (about 2.7 trillion won). In addition, KHC participated in raising funds during the Twitter acquisition process.

Although Musk completed his Twitter acquisition last week, it could still be subject to an investigation into national security, CNN said.

According to CFIUS’ annual report, the Commission has the authority to review pending or completed transactions if it deems there are national security concerns.

Referring to the fact that the social media platform TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, Senator Murphy added, “There is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should consider it.”

Meanwhile, Moody’s, an international credit rating agency, lowered Twitter’s credit rating by two notches.

Moody’s announced on its website that it had lowered its Twitter credit rating by two from “Ba2” to “B1.” The outlook for credit ratings was also maintained as ‘negative’.

Moody’s explained the reason for the credit rating downgrade, saying it expected Twitter’s debt to increase significantly and its debt ratio to rise as cash held decreases, weakening other credit indicators.

Moody’s said, “Considering aggressive financial policies and the ownership structure focused on Musk, Twitter’s governance risk is very negative.”