OSN has bought scores of new channels through an acquisition of Pehla Media and Entertainment, giving the Dubai-based pay TV service rights to Asian content including Bollywood movies and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The company, which is currently expanding with five new HD channels this year and launching another channel in the United Kingdom, said it had acquired all of Pehla for an undisclosed sum, adding "nearly 40 premium channels". The acquisition takes OSN's total number of channels to around 140.
"OSN is significantly expanding its reach throughout the Middle East region," said David Butorac, the company's chief executive.
However, he dampened expectations that OSN would soon embark on an initial public offering (IPO), saying it had not begun the process of listing on a stock market.
Terms of the acquisition of Pehla, based in Jebel Ali, were not disclosed, though the deal was funded through a mix of OSN's reserves and debt financing.
Covering a number of channels in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Malayam and Tamil, the move is intended to help OSN to grow its regional customer base after partnering with ABS-CBN, the Philippine TV network, earlier this year.
"We have for some time recognised the importance of the South East Asian market as an integral part of the market," Mr Butorac said. "The addition of Pehla is a very natural synergy to grow our business."
The deal increases OSN's staff of 1,500 across the region by a further 69 people, Mr Butorac said.
In June, Kuwait Projects Company, the company known as Kipco which is the majority owner of OSN's shares, said it had hired Rothschild to advise on the options for an initial public offering.
"As it stands today there are no current plans for the IPO," Mr Butorac said. "What happens in the future happens in the future."
Kipco owns 60.5 per cent of OSN's shares, while Mawarid Group, a Saudi family-owned conglomerate, owns the remaining 39.5 per cent.
In June, OSN said it would expand in the UK with the launch of Ya Hala channel.
[ ghunter@thenational.ae ]
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
Indika
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: Odd Meter
Console: PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90+5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
