SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake Acquire Licensing Rights
Oct 20 (Reuters) – Biden Administration officials are discussing whether the United States should subject some of Elon Musk's ventures to national review including the deal for Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The SpaceX chief in recent times has taken to Twitter to announce proposals to end Russia's war in Ukraine, and also said SpaceX cannot indefinitely fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine. He later backed down and said he would continue to bear the costs of the service.
The discussions to review Musk's ventures are at an early stage, sources told Bloomberg, adding that officials in the U.S. government are weighing what tools, if any, are available that would allow the federal government to review Musk's ventures.
One possibility is through the law governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is under the U.S. Department of Treasury, to review Musk's ventures, the report added.
An element of Musk's $44 billion Twitter deal which could trigger a CFIUS review is the presence of foreign investors in Musk's consortium, Bloomberg said.
The group includes Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Binance, which was founded in Shanghai.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department said CFIUS does not publicly comment on transactions that it may or may not be reviewing.
Twitter and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Musk had said he would walk away from the deal to buy Twitter in May alleging the company understated the number of bot and spam accounts on the social media platform, which started a series of lawsuits between the two parties.
Earlier this month, Musk reversed course and said he will proceed with the deal on original terms.
Reporting by Rhea Binoy and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful nations begin an annual summit on Saturday in India's capital New Delhi, deeply divided over the war in Ukraine but in broad agreement on issues such as cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2023 Reuters. All rights reserved
