KUWAIT: OSN, a subsidiary of KIPCO and the leading pay-TV network in the MENA region, has announced a deal to merge its premium content streaming platform, OSN+, with Anghami, the region’s leading music and entertainment streaming platform.

The deal will be backed by an investment of up to US$50 million (KD 15.4 million) from OSN in Anghami, which will transform Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGH) into one of the region’s largest streaming entities with over 120 million registered users, 2.5 million paying subscribers and US$100 million (KD 31 million) in revenue at closing.

Sheikha Dana Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, KIPCO’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of OSN, said that the deal was in line with KIPCO’s strategic objective of achieving digital transformation and optimization across its companies, with the aim of leveraging technology to evolve business models.

The deal will create a new media tech company with AI at its core, offering consumers an unparalleled aggregation of the best and latest in premium movies, TV shows, music, podcasts and more.

She added that the venture will transform the way that media and entertainment are consumed in the MENA region.

Anghami has a catalogue of over 100 million songs and podcasts, with exclusives from artists such as Amr Diab, while OSN+ has over 18,000 hours of content and exclusive partnership deals with HBO, NBC Universal, Paramount, and leading Arab and Turkish studios.

The new platform will leverage Anghami’s strong tech stack coupled with OSN+’s library of premium content to deliver an enriched experience with AI-driven hyper personalization that prioritizes recommendation based on user preferences.

Mr Joe Kawkabani, OSN’s Chief Executive Officer, said that the deal was a major milestone in OSN’s journey as it continues to scale up its streaming business.

Mr Elie Habib, Co-Founder of Anghami and set to be the CEO of the combined entity, said that joining forces with OSN+ is a leap in Anghami’s journey to reinvent entertainment in the Arab World.

Anghami Inc. will continue to be listed on the NASDAQ. Closing of the transaction is subject to obtaining customary regulatory and anti-trust approvals, with the integration expected to be finalized in early 2024 once those are received.

OSN will own a majority stake in Anghami Inc. and will continue to run its linear business, OSNtv, separately with Mr Joe Kawkabani as Group CEO.