Pioneering Saudi entertainment company Alamiya buys Lyra Pictures

Dubai: In Saudi Arabia, two production companies have merged, with Alamiya acquiring Lyra Pictures.

When it was founded in the 1970s, Alamiya was the ‘first cinema and television studio’ to launch in the Kingdom. Subsequently, it changed ‘business direction’ due to the ban on cinemas.

With much changing in the Saudi broadcast and entertainment spaces, the media and content creation space is going through its own boom

The Lyra acquisition thus sets the stage for Alamiya to ‘re-establish its presence’ in the live production and entertainment space.

“With Lyra Pictures under our wing, we combine traditional and modern film approaches to create something unique," said Sultan Al Muheisen, Chairman and CEO of Alamiya. “This acquisition goes beyond business. It is about setting a precedent in the regional and local film industry.”

Of more recent origin, Lyra Pictures was co-founded by Wesam Kattan, a media entertainment executive, and Bassma El-Afghani, a strategy and analytics management consultant.

“Alamiya's scale and reach, paired with our story-first approach, will create a synergy that promises to introduce innovative strategies to storytelling in the Middle East,” said Kattan.