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Regional Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service, Starzplay, has secured $25 million (AED 92 million) from Abu Dhabi-based Ruya Partners.
The funding will be used to expand its geographic and customer reach, acquire and produce original content.
According to The National, Starzplay is planning for an IPO by 2024. "The move is part of wider growth plans to double its revenue and subscribers within three to four years," the UAE daily cited Maaz Sheikh, co-founder and chief executive of Starzplay, as saying.
"This new partnership demonstrates our ability to attract diverse, top-notch institutional investors as we continue to drive growth and ensure a path to profitability. UAE’s strong tech-entrepreneurial ecosystem, and this new investment will further strengthen STARZPLAY’s capacity to create original content, expand our geographical footprint and cement our lead status as the MENA region’s digital champion,” according to a statement from Sheikh.
Ruya Partners is an independent alternative investment firm focused on private credit investments in developing markets. It is a portfolio investment of Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, a joint venture between Mubadala Investment Company and Falcon Edge Capital. The current funding of Starzplay adds to the $125 million (AED 459 million) secured since its launch in 2015 from STARZ, a Lionsgate company, and State Street Global Advisors.
Currently, Starzplay has more than 1.8 million paid subscribers and is installed on more than six million devices.
Accounting for a market share of more than 32 per cent, the platform recorded exceptional growth in 2020, with independent research showing an astounding growth of 141 per cent in the number of unique users during the year, the company said in a statement.
Rashid Siddiqi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ruya Partners, said: “The financing for Starzplay is one of our first major investments in the tech sector in UAE. As a homegrown brand, Starzplay has disrupted the market and meets the increase in demand for home entertainment."
Starzplay was the first entity to secure a licence in the UAE in the SVOD sector. It acquires content based on viewer preferences, insights and research.
Starzplay's success is also driven by its valuable relationships with 21 telcos offering subscription via prepaid and post-paid mobile. It plans to expand its successful model to emerging markets, including Sub-Saharan and Francophone Africa, the statement said.
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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