France’s CANAL+ Group seals control of Africa’s MultiChoice

Deal is "strategic" in expanding African market

French media giant Canal+ Group has completed a $3 billion deal to acquire the remaining 55% of MultiChoice Group, Africa’s largest pay-TV operator. The deal seals the group’s full ownership of platforms including DStv, GOtv, SuperSport, M-Net, Africa Magic, and Showmax. The acquisition, valued at 55 billion rand, was approved by the South African Competition Tribunal on July 23 and is expected to conclude fully by October 8.

This move marks a pivotal shift in African broadcasting, granting Canal+ access to over 14.5 million subscribers across 50 countries. Having held a 45.2% stake since 2020, Canal+ accelerated its investment with €1.2 billion before making a full takeover bid early this year.

A unified multinational platform

Maxime Saada, Canal+’s chairman and CEO, described the acquisition as a "strategic milestone," emphasising ambitions to create a unified media platform merging Canal+’s French-language content with MultiChoice’s English and Portuguese offerings while enhancing local production.

As a subsidiary of Vivendi SE, Canal+ plans to invest R26 billion ($1.4 billion) in local content and South African operations over three years. The acquisition strengthens Canal+’s position against global streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ in Africa’s rapidly expanding digital entertainment market.

In parallel news, CANAL+ is also in exclusive negotiations to acquire the major movie studio and cinema chain UGC in France.

(ML. Source: BusinessDay et al. Photo: CANAL+)