Twitter and Elon Musk have yet to agree on how to proceed with closing the acquisition of the social media company. According to sources, both parties held unsuccessful talks about possibly cutting down the $44B agreed-on purchase price. Both sides are still hashing out the details of his request to stick to the original purchase agreement terms. More: - According to sources, the impasse includes what would be required from both sides for a stay on the legal action and adjournment of the upcoming trial.
- The parties also could not agree on if the deal’s closing would be contingent on Musk getting the necessary debt financing.
Zoom Out: - On Monday, Musk sent a letter to Twitter offering to proceed with the deal at the agreed-upon price of $54.20 a share once debt financing is received.
- Musk’s team also requested an immediate stay on the legal action and adjournment of the upcoming trial and all other proceedings related to the deal.
- Both parties were due to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.
- Musk was scheduled to be deposed on Thursday in Texas; however, both parties have agreed to postpone Musk’s deposition.
- Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was deposed on Monday in California.
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The European Union is proceeding with the U.S.-led effort to put an international oil price cap on Russian oil exports. The measure is being developed by the G-7 nations, which are the U.S., U.K., Japan, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. The EU is following a two-step approach for the new package of sanctions. More: - EU member states signed off on the legislation needed to implement the sanctions but would hold off on approving it.
- The proposed oil price cap will place a maximum price on what member states can pay for Russian oil imports.
- Some member states have expressed concern about the proposed measures, especially nations with large shipping sectors, including Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.
- The U.S. has pushed for the international oil-price cap to minimize Russia’s revenue from oil sales without inflating global oil prices.
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Belgium and Spain have issued warnings about the impact of Germany’s large fiscal stimulus package aimed at protecting its businesses and consumers from surging energy prices. Some EU member states have expressed concerns that Germany’s €200B ($200B) fiscal stimulus package could cause unfair competitive distortions among the states at a time when the bloc should work together to deliver a united response to rising energy costs. More: - Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said that the EU’s single market should not be allowed to break apart, and though Germany’s move was justified, it was important to preserve a balance to ensure fair competition across the EU.
- Sanchez added there needs to be a response at the European level to level the playing field.
- Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo echoed Sanchez’s statements, noting imbalances in fiscal spending in individual member states are dangerous and risk affecting the EU’s single market.
- German chancellor Olaf Scholz defended Germany’s fiscal policy, adding that the move was another form of support that other states have been offering, including Spain, France, and the Netherlands.
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The Biden administration plans to remove some of the sanctions on Venezuela to allow U.S. oil company Chevron to resume drilling in the South American nation. The move would reopen the U.S. and Europe to oil exports from Venezuela. The move comes following OPEC+’s decision to cut global oil output by 2 million barrels a day. More: - According to sources, in exchange for some sanctions relief, the Venezuelan government would resume talks with the country’s opposition to hold a free and fair presidential election in 2024.
- The deal also includes unfreezing hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan state funds held in U.S. banks to pay for food, medicine, and equipment imports to the struggling nation.
- U.S. officials said details of the deal are still being discussed and may fall through if Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government does not resume talks with the opposition in good faith.
- Venezuela was once a top oil-producing nation, pumping out more than 3.2 million barrels daily in the 1990s.
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Private equity firm Apollo Global Management and investment firm Sixth Street Partners are no longer in talks with Elon Musk to finance the $44B takeover bid for Twitter. According to sources, Apollo and Sixth Street had been in talks with Musk to provide preferred equity financing for the deal. More: - Apollo, Sixth Street, and some other investors were looking to commit more than $1B in financing for the deal.
- The talks between the parties ended months ago, around when Musk started expressing doubts about the deal.
- Musk proposed to take Twitter private in mid-April, which Twitter accepted on April 25.
- In July, Musk said he was terminating the agreement to buy Twitter, claiming that the social media company underrepresented the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform.
- On Monday, Musk sent a letter to Twitter offering to proceed with the deal at the agreed-upon price of $54.20 a share, or $44B, once debt financing is received.
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TikTok parent ByteDance reported an operating profit for Q1 2022, according to a report shared with employees in August. The private company, which has postponed its public debut citing market conditions, reported an operating loss of more than $7B for 2021, up from $2.14B reported in 2020. More: - The financial report covered the full years of 2020 and 2021, plus Q1 2022.
- ByteDance reported full-year 2021 revenue of $61.7B, up 80% YoY.
- Cost of sales was $27.4B for 2021, up 79% YoY.
- The company reported $75.6B in market-value changes on a range of convertible securities, up 76% YoY.
- ByteDance products include TikTok, its Chinese counterpart Douyin, and news and information platform Jinri Toutiao (Today’s Headlines).
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Quick Hits - Google Ventures(GV) leads a $35M round investing in Courier's notification system, joining Twilio, Slack, Bessemer, and Matrix Partners as investors. *
- The U.S. is considering legislation to break up OPEC+ following the group's plan to cut 2 million barrels of oil per day from production. Congress is also planning to charge the group in front of the WTO or seize assets its members own in the U.S.
- Peloton plans to cut 500 more jobs, or 12% of its remaining staff. The move marks Peloton's fourth round of job cuts this year. The amount will leave Peloton with approximately 3,800 employees globally.
- Former Uber chief security officer Joseph Sullivan was found guilty of criminal obstruction charges for failing to report a 2016 cyber attack to federal authorities. NOTE: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber.
- Actor Alec Baldwin and producers of the Western movie "Rust" have settled with the family of deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin shot Hutchins while filming a scene for the movie last year.
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Freelance Writer for Inside.com. She writes the Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, exploring cities, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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