Arab world reacts to Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter

Tesla chief Elon Musk says his takeover bid for Twitter was a "best and final offer" and that he was the only person capable of unlocking the full potential of the platform. (AFP)
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Updated 15 April 2022
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Arab world reacts to Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter

DUBAI: Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share, just days after refusing to join the social media company’s board of directors.

News of the bid set the internet, and especially Twitter, on fire.

The Twitch streamer and social media influencer known as “Arab” on Instagram and YouTube and “Your Fellow Arab” on Twitter said he was excited by Musk’s offer.

“Twitter is my favorite platform and Elon Musk is a god amongst men,” he told Arab News.

“If they sell Twitter to him, I know he will succeed.”

But Saudi businessman Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, who is chairman of Kingdom Holding Co., Rotana and Al Waleed Philanthropies, was less impressed.

“Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer,” he said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Dr. Petar Stojanov, who leads the innovation and future strategy practice at global design and innovation advisory Black, explained the potential backlash if Twitter rejects Musk’s offer.

Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, who is its biggest shareholder with just over 9 percent, provided a letter on Wednesday that contained a proposal to buy the remaining shares in the company.

Twitter said its board of directors would “carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders.”

Hassan Sajwani, a social media influencer with more than 100,000 followers, posted a series of tweets about the offer.

 

Following Musk’s bid, shares in Twitter jumped nearly 12 percent before the market opened.

As of January, the social networking platform had more than 14 million users in Saudi Arabia, according to Statista. Twitter’s global revenue increased by 37 percent year on year in 2021, according to its Q4 earnings call.


Hezbollah says Israeli strike killed Al-Manar TV presenter in southern Lebanon

Updated 27 January 2026
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Hezbollah says Israeli strike killed Al-Manar TV presenter in southern Lebanon

  • The ​Israeli ‌military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Monday that an Israeli strike ​in the country’s south killed TV presenter Ali Nour Al-Din, who worked for the group’s affiliated Al-Manar television station.
The group said the killing portends “the danger of ‌Israel’s extended escalations (in Lebanon) ‌to include ‌the ⁠media community.”
The ​Israeli ‌military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.
Israel and ⁠Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ‌ceasefire in 2024 to end ‍more than ‍a year of fighting ‍between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since ​then, the sides have traded accusations over ceasefire violations.
Lebanon ⁠has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. The group’s leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country, aiming to push the Lebanese government for quicker action to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal.