Canal+: South African Competition Court approves conditional acquisition of TV and streaming giant MultiChoice

Canal+ is about to complete the largest acquisition in its history. The South African Competition Tribunal has conditionally approved Canal+'s acquisition of MultiChoice, the South African television and streaming giant, the two groups announced in a joint press release on Wednesday, July 23.

The French audiovisual group, owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, launched a public bid last year to acquire MultiChoice, Africa's largest pay-TV operator. Among the conditions required for the transaction to be completed was the financing of South African entertainment and sports productions, the press release stated.

The court "approved the proposed transaction, subject to the agreed conditions," it said. Thus, "the parties remain on track to finalize the mandatory offer from Canal+ within the announced timeframe," that is, "before the deadline of October 8, 2025."

Canal+, which currently holds 45.2% of MultiChoice's capital, launched a public takeover bid in March 2024 for the entire share capital of the company, at a price of 125 rand per share (around 6 euros), which values the remaining 54.8% at 35 billion rand (1.7 billion euros) and the entire share capital of the African giant at 55 billion rand (2.7 billion euros).

The deal is part of the strategy it has been advocating for several years: to stand up to American platforms (Netflix, Prime, AppleTV), Canal+ needs to grow and reach a critical mass. While Canal+ currently has around 8 million subscribers in Africa in predominantly French-speaking countries, MultiChoice is well established in Nigeria and Zambia, both English-speaking countries, and Angola, a Portuguese-speaking country. The deal should allow Canal+ to reach 50 to 100 million subscribers in the coming years, compared to 27 million today.

"This is an extremely positive step in our journey to bring together two iconic media and entertainment companies and create a true champion for Africa," said Maxime Saada, president of Canal+, quoted in the press release. The competition court's announcement "marks an important milestone and is a big step forward for both companies," said Calvo Mawela, CEO of MultiChoice Group.