• A merger between Lebanon-founded music streaming startup Anghami and Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has been approved by shareholders, bringing the former a step closer to listing on the US NASDAQ.

• The merger which values Anghami at $220 million, is expected to close once “closing conditions” are met and Anghami will begin trading on the NASDAQ under the tickers “ANGH” and “ANGHW”. The merger agreement will result in Anghami becoming the second Arab company to list on NASDAQ after Aramex 25 years ago, and the first Arab technology startup to do so. 

• Founded in 2012 by Elie Habib and Eddy Maroun, Anghami is the region’s first music-streaming platform and today offers more than 57 million songs to its 70 million registered users. It is now headquartered in Abu Dhabi and has offices in Beirut, Cairo, Dubai and Riyadh and operates across 16 countries in the Middle East.

• For more on Anghami’s startup journey, please click here.

Press release:

Anghami Inc. (“Anghami” or the “Company”), the leading music streaming platform and service in the Middle East and North Africa, and Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. (NASDAQ: VMAC) (“VMAC”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that in a special meeting on January 19, 2022, VMAC’s shareholders voted to approve its proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”) with Anghami. Approximately 98% of the votes cast at the meeting were in favor of the Business Combination. 

The Business Combination is expected to close upon satisfaction of the closing conditions. Following the closing of the Business Combination, the common stock and warrants of the surviving company are expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ under the tickers “ANGH” and “ANGHW,” respectively. 

Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. is a blank check company, also commonly referred to as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities in the Global Media and Entertainment sector. 

Anghami is the leading digital music entertainment technology platform in the Middle East and North Africa, with the largest catalog comprising more than 57 million songs available for more than 70 million users. When it launched in 2012, Anghami was the first music-streaming platform in MENA. In digitising the region’s music, it has become the best-known and best-loved brand in music streaming in MENA. Today, Anghami features licensed content from leading Arabic labels, independent artists and distributors. Anghami also features music from the major International labels such as Universal, Sony, Warner and is continuously licensing new content. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, it has offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh and operates in 16 countries across MENA. It is the only service available in English, Arabic and French, and remains close to its customer base, not only thanks to its pan-regional presence but also via the 56 million user data points it generates every day.