Dubai: The Middle East has a new media industry powerhouse with the streaming platform OSN taking up majority stake in the Arab online music portal Anghami. All approvals from regulators are now in place.
OSN Group has thus acquired 55.45 per cent in Anghami, giving it a stake at a valuation of $3.69 per share. This is 1.9x times the closing price of the stock on March 28.
This deal will result in a company with over 120 million registered users, around 2.5 million paid subscribers, and close to $100 million in revenue at closing.
"The combined entity brings together OSN+’s premium and exclusive library of 18,000 hours of video content with Anghami’s catalog of more than 100 million songs and podcasts," the statement said, "It will benefit from Anghami’s strong tech stack, delivering an enhanced streaming experience with AI-driven hyper-personalization and soon to be announced best-in-class products."
Elie Habib, Anghami's co-founder and CTO, will lead the combined entity as incoming Anghami CEO, while Joe Kawkabani will remain as OSN Group CEO.
The deal was first announced in November last year.
Anghami has been through a series of deals if the recent past, and which eventually led to a SPAC buyout and a listing on Nasdaq New York.
The Gulf's media scene has been in the limelight, whether through the Saudi MBC Group's high-wattage IPO and listing on Tadawul. Or the video streaming platform Starzplay Arabia being bought by e& Group's E-Vision and ADQ.
