KIPCO announces deal to bring together OSN+ and Anghami

KIPCO announces a deal that brings together OSN+ and Anghami

KIPCO – Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) – announced that its subsidiary, OSN, has reached a deal to combine its premium content streaming platform in the region, OSN+, with Anghami Inc., the region’s leading music and entertainment streaming platform.

A first of its kind in the region, the combination of the two local home-grown streaming platforms will offer consumers unprecedented aggregation of the best and latest in premium movies, TV shows, music, podcasts and more while providing a rich and seamless user experience.

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

With customer-centricity at the core, the new platform will be committed to offering the best and most unique product and content experience in the region. Recognizing the power of both brands, the 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.

Sheikha Dana Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, KIPCO’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of OSN, said: “One of KIPCO’s strategic objectives is to achieve digital transformation and optimization across its companies, with the aim of leveraging technology to evolve business models. In line with this, we have been focused on growing OSN’s streaming business through optimal use of technology, digital marketing and content diversification. Bringing OSN+ together with Anghami will not only create the region’s largest streaming platform, but also form a media tech company with AI at its core, playing a pivotal role in the growth of this venture. With an immediate offering that combines premium content, music and entertainment on one application, media technology would allow us to expand into even further verticals based on the anticipated needs of our clients. We strongly believe that this venture will transform the way that media and entertainment are consumed in the MENA region.”

Mr Joe Kawkabani, OSN’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “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 streaming landscape.”

Mr Elie Habib, Co-Founder of Anghami and set to be the CEO of the combined entity, added: “Joining forces with OSN+ is a leap in Anghami’s journey to reinvent entertainment in the Arab World. 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’ll truly love.”

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.