French media conglomerate Vivendi’s Canal+ has officially submitted an offer to acquire South African pay TV company MultiChoice Group, as announced in a statement on Thursday. Canal+, a major shareholder in Vivendi with a 31.67 percent stake, proposes a cash consideration of 105 rands ($5.61) per MultiChoice ordinary share.
Additionally, the offer aims to secure a listing in South Africa. This proposal represents a 40 percent premium to MultiChoice’s closing share price of 75 rand on the preceding Wednesday.
Maxime Saada, Chairman and CEO of Canal+, emphasized that MultiChoice’s success in Africa requires a strategy to enhance scale, along with reinforced local and global expertise. If successful, the potential acquisition by Canal+ is seen as a crucial step for MultiChoice to unlock its full potential.
Saada mentioned that with the resources from Canal+, MultiChoice could invest in scale, support local African talent and stories, and leverage technology for growth, enabling it to compete with global streaming media giants.
MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay TV company, has consistently invested billions of rand to fend off competition from international streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney. These streaming giants have also been making substantial investments in local content as part of their global strategy.
