Anghami stands out as the leading music technology platform in the Middle East and North Africa, boasting a strong market presence and rapid growth. With OSN Group now owning 55.45% of Anghami’s shares (valued at $3.69 each, representing a 1.9x of the closing price on March 28), the combined entity emerges as a formidable media force.

This strategic move unites 120 million registered users and around 2.5 million paid subscribers, and will generate nearly $100 million in revenue upon completion. The merger integrates OSN+’s extensive library of premium video content, spanning 18,000 hours, with Anghami’s vast catalog of over 100 million songs and podcasts.

Moreover, the combined entity will leverage Anghami’s advanced technological infrastructure to enhance the streaming experience through AI-driven hyper-personalization and upcoming cutting-edge products.

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Elie Habib, co-founder and CTO of Anghami will assume the role of CEO in the merged company, underscoring a commitment to continuity and expertise. Meanwhile, Joe Kawkabani will remain at the helm as CEO of OSN Group.

Anghami’s journey has been marked by several transformative deals, including a SPAC buyout culminating in a listing on Nasdaq New York, reflecting its evolution and resilience in the market.

The Middle East’s media landscape continues to witness dynamic shifts, evident in notable events such as the high-profile IPO of Saudi MBC Group on Tadawul and the acquisition of Starzplay Arabia by e& Group’s E-Vision and ADQ. The developments highlight the region’s growing dominance of the global media industry.

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According to a recent press release, combining the two home-grown brands will “offer consumers unprecedented digital aggregation of the best and latest in premium movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, and more while providing a rich and seamless user experience”.

When the collaboration is completed, Anghami will become one of the region’s largest streaming platforms, augmenting its already massive catalog of 100 million songs with 18,000 hours of video from OSN+, including content from HBO, NBC Universal, Paramount, and leading MENA studios.

Elie Habib, co-founder of Anghami and soon-to-be CEO of the combined venture, commented: “Joining forces with OSN+ is a leap in Anghami’s journey to reinvent entertainment in the Arab world. We’re combining technology, music, and video to build a comprehensive media ecosystem. It’s a chance to deepen our connection with our users and create something they will love”.

Joe Kawkabani, CEO of the OSN Group, added: “This is a major milestone in OSN’s journey as we continue to scale up our streaming business. Combining OSN+ content with Anghami’s technology enables us to deliver the best of entertainment all in one place for our customers, ensuring we are continuously evolving our offering to meet their needs. As two home-grown entities with an unmatched understanding of the local market, we are confident that this new offering will change the face of the regional streaming landscape”.

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The OSN Group has pledged to invest in Anghami at $3.65 per share — nearly four times the average price for the past month. The full transaction is expected to close in Q1 2024, at which point OSN will own a majority stake in Anghami.

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Now, the venture capital arm of the Saudi Research and Media Group, SRMG Ventures, has invested $5 million in the Arab world’s Spotify equivalent, giving a further boost to the company’s growth.

SRMG Ventures announced that it will offer its “extensive media reach, content library, and portfolio of leading assets in audio/podcasts,” enabling Anghami to grab a larger share of a fast-growing music streaming sector predicted to “reach $700 million in the Middle East and North Africa in 2026”.

Last year, the market size for audio in the MENA region increased by 35%, primarily due to the popularity of cloud-based music streaming services.

“This demand coupled with the commercial opportunity […] makes digital audio and media one of the investment priorities for SRMG Ventures. These opportunities are also demonstrative of our strategy and commitment to support and develop the media ecosystem,” explained Jomana Al-Rashid, chief executive of SRMG.

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According to Grand View Research, global music streaming is projected to hit a value of $103 billion by 2030, growing at a yearly rate of 15%. Anghami is a key player in that growth, becoming the first technology company from the Arab world to be listed on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange in February 2023.

SRMG Ventures explained that its investment in Anghami aligns with its strategy of backing businesses showing strong commercial growth. The venture capital company is also focused on media creators and immersive, interactive entertainment, with initial investments including Telfaz11, a Saudi media studio, and Vuz, a VR social media application.

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Rumor has it that Anghami went public knowing that Spotify had shown interest in acquiring them. However, a Spotify spokesperson insisted there was no news to report on the matter, and Anghami representatives have also been tight-lipped.

Anghami, was the first Arab tech company to list on the Nasdaq, and recently moved its headquarters from Beirut to Abu Dhabi, after entering into the Abu Dhabi Investment Office’s Innovation Programme, to the tune of $545 million.

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So why would a takeover make sense for Spotify? Well, for one, Anghami has a vast library of Arabic music and has signed deals with Egyptian star Amr Diab, and Saudi Arabia’s Rotana record label, the largest in the Middle East. The Abu Dhabi-based streaming service also has nearly 60% of the Middle Eastern market share, with 1.28 million paying subscribers and almost 20 million active users.

As Anghami continues to expand its reach, including a recent acquisition of Spotlight Events, a company that specializes in live events and concerts in the MENA region, interest from tech giants like Spotify will surely continue over the coming years.

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The partnership will help Anghami add thousands of audiobook summaries to its platform, greatly expanding the company’s portfolio and strengthening its commitment to enriching user experience with world-class Arabic content.

Anghami’s 72 million+ users will soon have access to over 3,500 regional and international non-fiction book titles in an audio summary format as an add-on within the main Anghami platform.

“The art of storytelling is a historic, cultural cornerstone in the Arab world. Our partnership with fast-growing startups like Wajeez marks a defining chapter for us as we collectively aim to leverage the full potential of audio content,” says Elie Habib, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Anghami.

Anghami hopes that the new catalog, which includes both audiobook and podcasts formats, will freshen their current offering and help to give creators an expanded platform and outlet for their work. Meanwhile, for Wajeez, the collaboration will see its content reaching a much wider audience.

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“Our partnership with Anghami, the region’s leading streaming platform, reinforces our vision to spread culture and knowledge on the widest possible scale in the Arab world, because we believe that the knowledge gained from reading constitutes awareness, which is a fundamental pillar for the renaissance, advancement, and civilization of people,” says Rami Abu Jbara, Chief Content Officer & Co-founder of Wajeez

Anghami’s announcement comes at a time when the company is actively bolstering its commitment to providing the best possible Arabic content. The platform has already announced the addition of live events, offline and virtual entertainment to its services, in a move that hopes to showcase top talent and help to put the region’s vibrant culture in front of a global audience.

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The acquisition is supposed to help Anghami expand its footprint in the music and entertainment ecosystem by bridging the gap between online and offline entertainment.

Eddy Maroun

“Our vision is to expand from music streaming to a fully integrated entertainment platform that meets our goal of building our unique category that no other provider can compete with,” explained Eddy Maroun, Co-founder and CEO of Anghami.

Maher Khawkhaji, Founder and CEO of Spotlight, believes that Anghami’s reach, data, and technical capabilities will allow Spotlight Events to bring the best to music fans, artists, and brands.

In addition to promoting upcoming concerts and making it easy for users to purchase tickets through Spotlight Events, Anghami will also take advantage of its live video streaming capabilities to deliver concerts as immersive virtual reality experiences.

If everything goes according to plan, the acquisition should help Anghami further increase its growing revenue, which reached $35.5 million in 2021, with the overall gross margin reaching 25.5 percent.

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“Maher has built a great business on solid economics and has proven that live concerts and events are a scalable and profitable business,” said Maroun.

Earlier this year, Anghami became the first Arab tech company to be listed on NASDAQ New York via a merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. The music-streaming platform is traded under the symbol “ANGH.”

Just like most other tech companies, Anghami is currently not doing well on the stock market. Right now, shares of Anghami are being traded for around $4.30 a piece, a significant decline from the all-time high of $28.88 back in February.

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We say “back” because Rotana was one of Anghami’s key partners when the service launched in 2012. The partnership ended when Rotana decided to move its copyrighted content to Deezer, which is partially owned by Rotana’s owner Al Waleed Bin Talal.

Anghami’s recent growth following its listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange on 4 February 2022, which caused its shares to grow by 80 percent and its market capitalization to exceed $500 million, might be a reason why the two companies are partners again.

Rotana’s music library includes some of the most popular Arab artists, such as Mohammad Abdo, Abdul Majeed Abdullah, Rashid Al Majid, Abdullah Al Ruwaished, Majed Al Mohandes, Rabeh Saqr, Nawal Al Kuwaitiya, and Ahlam.

The agreement for the partnership was signed Salem Al Hindi, CEO of Rotana Music Holding and Eddy Maroun, Anghami’s co-founder and CEO.

“We are thrilled to commence this partnership with Anghami, which will also strengthen the relationship between Rotana and its artists,” said Salem Al Hindi. “Rotana and its artists. We are confident that this collaboration will expand the business even further with the purpose of reaching Rotana music fans across the world.”

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Eddy Maroun said that he was delighted to welcome Rotana to Anghami. “There is no better way to celebrate Anghami’s tenth year and next chapter, than expanding our library of 72 million songs to include Rotana’s authentic Arabic content and rewarding fans with a wealth of original tracks,” he added.

The partnership with Rotana is expected to attract even more listeners to Anghami, which already has 75 million users from around the world.

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Earlier today, Habib posted a screenshot of his personal Anghami account showing a new section which would potentially allow users to connect their MetaMask or Rainbow Ethereum wallets in order to start earning the company’s new token as well as invest in select artists and podcasters.

As a caption for Habib’s post, he wrote “Probably nothing” which makes users believe that the company is most probably up to something interesting.

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Discord’s CEO, Jason Cirton, shared a similar screenshot on his Twitter account yesterday hinting that Discord accounts linked to Ethereum may be on their way.

With the spotlight on Web 3.0, it seems like companies around the world are racing to the decentralized web.

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As a result of the new partnership, Prime subscribers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will automatically get a free six-month subscription to Anghami Plus, a premium subscription service that offers an unlimited access to Anghami’s large content catalog and unlocks extra features such as the ability to play songs offline, display lyrics, and enjoy music in high quality.

“This collaboration with Anghami is a perfect example of how we work together with leading local brands to innovate on members’ behalf, offering them the best experience possible,” said Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President of Amazon Middle East and North Africa. “We’re excited to see Prime members in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE enjoy Anghami Plus and all it has to offer, alongside other shopping, savings and entertainment benefits already included in their membership”.

The partnership with Amazon is guaranteed to help Anghami realize its global ambitions and compete with other music streaming services, most notably Spotify and Deezer.

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Several months ago, Anghami entered into a merger agreement with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. The goal is to list Anghami on the New York NASDAQ exchange, giving it access to global growth capital.

Currently, Anghami provides its users access to more than 57 million Arabic and international songs, as well as podcasts and live radio. Amazon Prime subscribers who decide to keep using Anghami can get an additional 50% discount for the next six months.

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The new venue will open in the heart of Dubai, and it will feature a studio where artists can work on their music and a venue where they can perform it. The resulting music will then be available for streaming on the Anghami app (available on Windows, Symbian, Windows Phone, Linux, BlackBerry OS, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, OS X, MeeGo, and even PlayStation 4).

To give visitors one more reason to come in, Anghami has partnered with Addmind, the region’s market leader in hospitality, to serve a fusion of Arabic and International recipes that represent the different flavors of music available on the Anghami app.

“We are excited to partner with Addmind to create this unique, transformational experience for our users,” said Eddy Maroun, co-founder and CEO of Anghami. “Anghami Lab is an amazing and unique concept that embodies our rich Arab culture with an international twist, which we are thrilled to bring to fruition and scale,” added Tony Habre, CEO of Addmind.

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The Dubai venue is scheduled to open in early 2022, and more venues are planned to open not long after in Riyadh, Jeddah, Cairo, Beirut, London, New York, Los Angeles, and other global cities.

The announcement of Anghami Lab comes ahead of the proposed merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a special purpose acquisition company. The goal of the merger is to list Anghami on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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