Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. and Anghami Inc. Announce Closing of Business Combination
Vistas Media Acquisition Company has successfully completed its merger with Anghami, the leading music streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa. Approved by a majority of VMAC shareholders on January 19, 2022, the combined entity will start trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ANGH on February 4, 2022. Anghami boasts over 75 million songs and 75 million registered users, with about 1 billion streams monthly. This landmark merger marks Anghami as the first Arab tech firm to list on a major U.S. exchange, paving the way for its growth and expansion.
- Anghami becomes the first Arab technology company listed on NASDAQ, expanding its visibility and credibility in the global market.
- The merger is expected to enhance Anghami's growth potential with access to capital for further development and user acquisition.
- The merger may face integration challenges that could disrupt Anghami's existing operations as a result of transitioning to a public company.
- Potential risks include market volatility and economic factors that could impact Anghami's performance post-merger.
Anghami Expected to Begin Trading on the NASDAQ on February 4, 2022 at 9:30 AM ET Under the Ticker Symbol “ANGH”
NEW YORK, Feb. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc. (NASDAQ: VMAC) (“VMAC”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) led by CEO F. Jacob Cherian and co-founders Saurabh Gupta and Abhayanand Singh, and Anghami Inc. (“Anghami” or the “Company”), the leading music streaming platform and service in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today the completion of their business combination (the “Business Combination”).
The Business Combination was approved by a majority of VMAC stockholders at a special meeting held on January 19, 2022. Following the closing of this Business Combination, the common stock of the surviving company will begin trading in the United States on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker “ANGH” and the surviving company’s warrants will begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker “ANGHW,” on February 4, 2022 at 9:30 AM ET.
F. Jacob Cherian, Chief Executive Officer of VMAC, commented, “We are delighted to announce the completion of our business combination with Anghami, bringing the first Arab technology company to the United States NASDAQ exchange. We would like to congratulate the Anghami team on this incredible achievement, and are excited to see its next chapter as a public company."
“Today is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our company, employees and partners at Vistas Media Acquisition Company,” said Eddy Maroun, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anghami. “As a public company, we will further develop our ecosystem of creators, expand our content and add millions of users in MENA and globally.”
Elie Habib, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer added, “The business combination is the culmination of a long journey and we are pleased to be joining NASDAQ, which will provide the foundation for us to hire the best engineers, further innovate and offer our users the best experience and new products.”
Anghami brings to the NASDAQ the first music-streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa, offering more than 75 million songs to more than 75 million registered users with around 1 billion streams per month.
Advisors
Truist Securities acted as financial and capital markets advisor to VMAC. Benchmark and I-Bankers Securities, Inc. also acted as financial advisors and Winston & Strawn LLP acted as legal advisor to VMAC.
SHUAA Capital acted as financial advisor and global underwriter to Anghami. Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal advisor to Anghami. Baker Botts L.L.P. acted as U.S. counsel to SHUAA Capital.
About Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc.
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, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities in the Global Media and Entertainment sector.
To learn more about Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc., please visit https://vmac.media.
About Anghami Inc.
Anghami is the leading digital music entertainment technology platform in the Middle East and North Africa, with the largest catalog comprising more than 75 million songs available for more than 75 million users. When it launched in 2012, Anghami was the first music-streaming platform in MENA. In digitizing 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.
To learn more about Anghami, please visit: https://anghami.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. VMAC’s and Anghami’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the proposed business combination, and the timing of the completion of the proposed business combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside VMAC’s and Anghami’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on Anghami’s business; (2) the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; (3) costs related to the business combination; (4) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (5) the possibility that Anghami or VMAC may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (6) other risks and uncertainties identified in Anghami’s registration statement on Form F-4 (File No. 333-260234) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which was declared effective on December 16, 2021, with respect to the Company’s securities to be issued in connection with the business combination, and in other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by the Company or VMAC and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Anghami cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive and cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, Anghami does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contacts:
VMAC:
F. Jacob Cherian, CEO
+1 212- 859-3525
fjc@vmac.media
Investor Contact:
Ashley DeSimone
Ashley.Desimone@icrinc.com
Brett Milotte, ICR
Brett.Milotte@icrinc.com
Middle East Media:
Dhanya Issac / Omar Nasro, ASDA’A BCW
Dhanya.Issac@bcw-global.com / Omar.Nasro@bcw-global.com
FAQ
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