Photo Credit: Anghami
Following last year’s merger between media and entertainment giant OSN and music streaming platform Anghami, OSN is looking to acquire full ownership.
Dubai-based entertainment and media giant OSN has launched a bid for full ownership of UAE music streamer Anghami, after acquiring a majority share under last year’s merger between the two companies.
The acquisition would bring the streamer fully under the OSN umbrella, resulting in its Nasdaq delisting and paving the way for a unified streaming group in the MENA region.
It’s a smart next move for OSN, which has been experiencing strong growth since its merger with Anghami. Last year, Anghami reported revenue of $99.3 million, up 27% year-on-year. Its combined paid subscriber base with OSN+ surpassed 3.5 million, while its total registered users across the platform exceeded 130 million.
All of this suggests an increasing demand for entertainment ecosystems combining music, video, and podcasts under one roof—something OSN and other major regional players hope to take advantage of to stay ahead of global juggernauts like Spotify and YouTube.
Founded in Lebanon in 2012, Anghami set itself apart as the first homegrown music streaming platform in the Arab world, establishing a foothold in MENA’s digital entertainment landscape.
Notably, if completed, the transaction would signal the end of Anghami’s time as a publicly traded company, allowing it to operate as a privately held business under its majority owner.
For now, the proposal is just a non-binding offer, and Anghami’s board will first evaluate the proposal with three appointed independent directors: Nathan Scott Fine, Guergui Saykov Stoyanov, and Chiara Marcati. Further, the board has established a special committee comprising these directors to assess the proposal, negotiate with OSN as needed, and consider viable alternatives.
The committee also has the authority to hire independent legal and financial advisors, as well as recommend accepting or rejecting OSN’s proposal. Anghami has explicitly stated that it will not approve any transaction with OSN without the committee’s recommendation, and any agreement would still be subject to board and shareholder approval where applicable.
