Canal+, the French media heavyweight, has finally completed its long-awaited acquisition of South African TV giant Multichoice, expanding its presence across the continent.
Having now completed all “regulatory conditions,” Canal+ has taken “effective control” of Multichoice, making its purchase offer for all shares of the company it does not already own unconditional at ZAR125.00 (US$7.1) per share. In all, the purchase will cost around $1.9 billion.
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Currently, Canal+ owns 46% of Multichoice, with an additional 2.2% set to come based on offer acceptances already tendered, and further gains to be made now that the share offer is unconditional.
With the purchase comes a host of executive changes, most pressing being the presence of Calvo Mawela, the outgoing chief executive of Multichoice, who will remain as the chair of Canal+’s Africa business.
David Mignot, chief executive of Canal+ Africa since 2013, will remain in charge of the business unit post-merger, with Nicholas Dandoy continuing as chief financial officer of the unit and wider group chair and ?? taking up the role of executive chair.
Jacques de Puy, the global head of pay-TV at Canal, also joins the Multichoice Group board alongside the three previous names who, alongside five independent non-executive directors, will make up the executive level of the company going forward.
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By GlobalDataOn the takeover, Saada has commented: “I am pleased we have delivered on a key part of the strategy we set out as we became a listed company in our own right last year, strengthening our position in the highest-growth payTV markets in the world – Africa – while continuing to deepen our leading position in Europe.
“We will be able to leverage the diverse talent that sits throughout the group to bring to life compelling local and international stories, both from our in-house production studio StudioCanal and global platforms, and the best national and global sports, all on a world-leading platform.”
Canal+ has said that the acquisition, the largest in company history, means that the wider Canal+ Group spans across 70 countries with 40 million subscribers.
Africa alone accounts for 31 million subscribers, with Multichoice itself having boasted almost 22 million subscribers as of September 2023.
The MultiChoice business includes the DStv and SuperSport brands, while it also relaunched its Showmax streaming platform last year.
Canal Plus’ pan-African offering is centered around a number of Francophone sub-Saharan countries such as Mali and Senegal, while Multichoice operates across English-speaking nations such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Canal Plus, the largest single stakeholder in MultiChoice, first bought into the business in early 2020, aiming to create a consolidated media giant on the continent.
Multichoice owns both SuperSport and the DStv pay-TV network, which together hold the vast majority of English-language rights in Sub-Saharan Africa to top-tier sports properties, including English Premier League soccer, American football’s NFL, motor racing’s Formula 1, and all major international cricket tournaments.
In order to gain approval for the purchase, Canal+ had to pledge a commitment to funding sports and entertainment content in South Africa, and the use of local talent and content creators in such, particularly with regard to local sports content.
