UAE telecom giant e& and ADQ pick up majority stake in streaming platform Starzplay Arabia

Dubai: The UAE telecom giant e& (formerly Etisalat) is on a buying spree - its entertainment arm E-Vision and Abu Dhabi investment firm ADQ will acquire a majority equity stake - of around 57 per cent - in the OTT platform Starzplay Arabia. The latter was one of the first subscription-based video-on-demand platforms in the UAE and wider region.

The e&-led consortium will acquire a controlling stake based on a post-money valuation of $420 million, while also investing E-Vision’s existing stake and secondary investments to join  other existing shareholders in the OTT platform. These include STARZ and SEQ Investors. (Starz and its parent company Lionsgate will maintain commercial agreements for content licensing to the venture.)

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and certain administrative procedures. Starzplay - among the Top 3 OTT platforms in the region - has around 2 million subscribers across 19 countries. This gives E-Vision, which was launched as the entertainment arm of the then Etisalat - an "opportunity to further strengthen its lead in content aggregation and access the fast-growth video direct-to-consumer streaming business in MENA region".

The deal provides potential for international expansion, leveraging Starzplay Arabia's reach across 20 telcos. (In recent times, Starzplay Arabia has been building up its Arabic language content.)

Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO of e& life and Chairman of E-Vision, said: "This investment strengthens our service offering and significantly enhances Starzplay Arabia’s positioning across the entire MENA region."

"Streaming platforms have drastically changed the way we consume media and have become commonplace in households around the world. Consumer expectations have also grown in line with this expansion as the demand for high-quality content and seamless streaming continues to rise."