Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding to keep Twitter stake

CAIRO - Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said on Friday that they will continue their ownership of Twitter shares valued at $1.89 billion after Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company, according to a statement tweeted by Prince Alwaleed.

The $44 billion takeover means Twitter is becoming a private company that everyday investors will no longer be able to buy shares in.

The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in the company’s stock on Friday, and the shares will be delisted on November 8, according to a filing with securities regulators.

On Thursday, Musk ousted three top Twitter executives, according to two people familiar with the deal. A shakeup was widely expected, but Musk has otherwise made contradictory statements about his vision for the company — and shared few concrete plans for how he will run it.

That has left Twitter's users, advertisers and employees to parse his every move in an effort to guess where he might take the company. Many are looking to see if he will welcome back a number of influential conservative figures banned for violating Twitter’s rules — speculation that is only heightened by upcoming elections in Brazil, the US and elsewhere.