Anghami co-founder and CEO Elie Habib (left) and OSN CEO Joe Kawkabani. Photo Credit: Anghami
Middle Eastern music service Anghami is officially set to join forces with Dubai-based film and television streaming platform OSN+. Following the up to $50 million deal’s announcement, Anghami shares (NASDAQ: ANGH) saw their value spike by about 50 percent.
Anghami and OSN+, a division of the namesake Panther Media Group-owned OSN, formally unveiled their planned combination this morning. Upon arriving on the public market via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal in February of 2022, Anghami performed strongly, with its shares ultimately climbing to nearly $20 apiece by the month’s end.
Notwithstanding this initial showing and the rapid growth of MENA’s music industry, multiple factors resulted in a prompt stock-price falloff for ANGH, which was trading for around $1.60 at 2022’s end. Saudi Research and Media Group-backed Anghami has continued to struggle on the stock-price front throughout 2023 and, in mid-October, received a notice of potential delisting from NASDAQ.
Thanks to the OSN+ pact, however, it seems that Anghami will avoid the latter. According to the involved parties, OSN, which is said to broadcast in 17 countries throughout MENA, will provide “a cash investment of up to $50 million” in connection with the transaction.
Said investment will specifically be made at $3.65 per share, or “3.9x the stock’s average price for the past month,” the businesses emphasized. With an anticipated wrap date in Q1 2024, the deal is expected to see OSN become Anghami’s majority shareholder – though the music service is poised to remain on NASDAQ.
Expanding on the point, Anghami stock was worth $2.37 per share at the time of this writing, reflecting an even 50 percent boost on the day and a 137 percent hike during the past five trading days, but a 13 percent dip from late November of 2022.
Bigger picture, OSN+ (subscriptions to which cost AED 35/$9.53 per month) already offers fans a variety of regional films and television shows as well as HBO, Paramount, and NBCUniversal programs, its website shows.
Once the union’s finalized, these viewing options will be available alongside Anghami’s catalog of over 100 million tracks as part of “a unique digital streaming experience with AI-driven hyper personalization that prioritizes recommendations based on user preference,” Anghami and OSN+ drove home.
In a statement, Anghami co-founder and CEO Elie Habib, who will also lead the post-combination company, touched on his ambitious vision for the forthcoming “comprehensive media ecosystem.”
“Joining forces with OSN+ is a leap in Anghami’s journey to reinvent entertainment in the Arab World,” communicated Habib. “We’re bringing together technology, music and video to build a comprehensive media ecosystem. It’s a chance to deepen our connection with our users and to create something they will truly love.”
