Canal+ buys 6.5% stake in Multichoice

French media giant, Canal+ (owned by Vivendi) has acquired a 6.5% stake in Africa’s largest broadcasting company Multichoice Africa.

This disclosure was made on the 5th of October by Multichoice as part of the requirement with the Takeover Regulation Panel.

“In accordance with section 122(3)(b) of the Companies Act, 71 of 2008 (“the Act”), regulation 121(2)(b) of the Companies Regulations, 2011 and paragraph 3.83(b) of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, holders of ordinary shares in MultiChoice are advised that the Company has received formal notification, in terms of section 122(1) of the Act, that French media company Groupe Canal+ SA (“Groupe Canal+”) has acquired an interest in the ordinary shares of the Company, such that the total interest in the ordinary shares of the Company held by Groupe Canal+ now amounts to 6.50% of the Company’s total ordinary shares in issue.“

“As a publicly held company, MultiChoice regularly engages with its strategic partners and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community. The Group’s policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders nor on its interactions with them. The Company remains committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and to create sustainable long-term shareholder value.“

This is an interesting turn of events as Vivendi’s bid in 2018, to buy Multichoice from Naspers was turned down.

However with the unbundling of Multichoice from Naspers and the subsequent listing of the company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), this may have the purchase possible. This seems to be in line with Naspers exiting the pay-TV business.

This is the 2nd acquisition in the anglophone media space in recent times. The French company acquired African film and television studio ROK for an undisclosed amount in 2019.

This signifies an incursion in the African anglophone media space and the company’s bid to become a major player in the continent’s media space. This is also in line with it forecast of its revenue from its international operations.

Canal+’s half year results showed a rise of 30.5% in revenues from international operations, thanks to the outstanding year-on-year growth in the number of subscribers (+3.2 million), which was driven both by organic growth and the integration of M7.