RIYADH (Agencies): Anghami, the Middle East-focused music streaming site will appeal to investors as a rare US proxy for the MENA tech scene when it lists on Nasdaq, research group Tellimer said in a note on Tuesday. Set to become the first Arab technology company to be listed in the US, the Beirut-headquartered company already has some 70 million users across MENA.
Anghami established the first legal music streaming company in the region with a music catalog that includes prominent Arabic record labels like Melody, Mazzika and Platinum, Tellimer said.
“It has a regular stream of monthly subscription revenue and is likely to be cash flow positive, unlike several other tech names,” said report author Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, head of consumer equity research at Tellimer. Founded by Lebanese entrepreneurs Eddy Maroun, and Elie Habib, its shareholders include Middle East Venture Partners, Samena Capital, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co., MBC Group and Etihad Etisalat Co.
The site has been pitched to regional affordability levels at $4.99 a month and its distribution strategy is focused on working with telcos, unlike that of rival Spotify. Anghami said in March it had agreed to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a deal that implied an enterprise value of about $220 million.
“Being a US listed public company gives us access to growth capital and a global platform that is the best in the world,” Anghami co-founder and CEO Eddy Maroun said at the time.
Under the deal, Anghami will merge with publicly listed Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. The deal includes a $30 million commitment from Dubai-based Shuaa Capital and $10 million from the parent of the SPAC.
Anghami this week said it had added six new mobile partnerships across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria in the first half of 2021.
“Partnering with mobile operators has been a key focus for us since our inception as they give us the opportunity to reach new audiences, benefiting for the telco partner’s big marketing reach as well as offering our users a convenient way to pay or to benefit from access to Anghami Plus through bundles that are tailor-made for each market,” said Choucri Khairallah, Anghami’s VP of business development.
