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Twitter cites UK national security law in legal letter to Musk as $44bn deal teeters

Legal experts say reference to UK rules could portend trouble for Twitter

While Twitter is US-listed and Musk is a US citizen, legal experts said raising the Act is a sign that the UK government may have at least an eye on what the deal could mean for its own interests
While Twitter is US-listed and Musk is a US citizen, legal experts said raising the Act is a sign that the UK government may have at least an eye on what the deal could mean for its own interests Photo: Onur Dogman/Getty Images

Twitter cited a new British law in a legal letter to Elon Musk, in what lawyers say may indicate that the UK government had concerns about what the $44bn transaction would mean for UK national security.

Twitter's legal team demanded the billionaire comply with his obligations under the merger agreement “including by taking all steps necessary to obtain a favourable outcome under the United Kingdom’s National Security and Investment Act 2021”, according to a 10 July letter to Musk's lawyers.

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