Shares in Abu Dhabi-based music streaming company Anghami surged 59% on Wednesday (March 20) after SEC filing showed that media company MBC Group has taken a 13.7% stake in the company. Anghami rose as high as $1.79 before closing at $1.59. Trading volume jumped to 11.3 million shares, more than 300 times its daily average.
Saudi Arabia-based MBC Group bills itself as “the largest and leading media company in the Middle East and North Africa.” Founded in London in 1991 as a satellite TV channel, MBC Group's properties now include 13 free-to-air TV channels, three radio stations and Shahid, a leading Arabic streaming platform. MBC Group also owns MBC Studios, a content production house, and MBC Academy, an education and training platform.
The two companies already had a marketing partnership that renewed in 2022. The partnership gives Anghami exposure across MBC Group's programming. MBC Group “creation[s] new opportunities for emerging musical talents”, Fadel ZahredinGroup Director of Emerging Media at MBC GROUP, he said at the time, “and we continue to inspire upcoming musicians by encouraging platforms like Anghami to give them the creative space to publish their premium music content.”
Investors appeared to view MBC Group's ownership stake as a positive sign that Anghami would have the financial and promotional resources to build a profitable business. Anghami shares have fallen 86% since its debut on February 4, 2022 on the Nasdaq. The company was warned by the Nasdaq exchange in November 2023 for trading below the $1 mark for the previous 30 days. Nasdaq gives companies 180 days to regain compliance or face delisting. Anghami said it would “consider available options to remedy the deficiency,” including a reverse stock split.
However, Wednesday's closing price is well below the valuation of two recent investments in Anghami. Angami received a $5 million strategic investment from SRMG in August 2023 that valued Anghami at $2.50 per share. A November 2023 deals with the OSN Group which valued Anghami at $3.65 per share – and sent Anghami's share price soaring 97% to a 52-week high of $3.11 – will offer Anghami its OSN+ video streaming platform and result in a investment up to 50 million dollars.
Anghami shares traded as high as $16.80 in April 2022, but have fallen 86% below their closing price of $11.00 on the first day of trading on February 4, 2022, following a merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a special purpose acquisition company. In 55 trading days in 2024, Anghami closed below $1.00 29 times.
In the first nine months of 2023, Anghami had 1.73 million subscribers and adjusted revenue of $30 million, up 8% year over year. The company has yet to report full-year 2023 results.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/streaming/anghami-shares-jump-saudi-mbc-group-stake-1235637536/