Kuwait Projects Company Holding (KIPCO) has announced that its subsidiary, Panther Media Group Ltd., known as OSN, has completed a milestone transaction for a majority stake in Anghami Inc, after receiving all regulatory approvals.
The OSN Group has acquired a 55.45% stake in Anghami, an Abu Dhabi-based music and entertainment streaming platform for a cash investment of $38 million.
Anghami has been valued at $3.69 per share, KIPCO said in a statement on Tuesday. This price amounts to 1.9x times the closing price of the stock on March 28.
Anghami, founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib in Lebanon, was the first Arab tech company to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, in February 2022.
The acquisition is set to create a new Middle East media industry powerhouse. 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 catalogue of more than 100 million songs and podcasts,” KIPCO said in the statement.
“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.
Last month, Saudi Arabia’s MBC Group Holdings announced it had acquired a 13.7% stake in Anghami, a transaction that was estimated to have had a cost of around $4.074 million.
