South Africa’s Competition Tribunal cleared French media Group Canal+’s Kshs258 billion takeover of Multichoice Group, a process the company started in 2020.
Parties involved
MultiChoice Group Ltd. is a South African pay-TV company operating DStv, GOtv, Showmax, and SuperSport, serving Sub‑Saharan Africa.
Canal+, formerly part of Vivendi, is a French media and telecom conglomerate majority‑owned by the Bolloré family. Multinational in reach, it has major operations across French‑speaking Africa and beyond.
Key Milestones
Starting in 2020, Canal+ began purchasing MultiChoice shares gradually, acquiring around 20% in 2020 and increasing to about 31.7% by early 2023, eventually reaching roughly 45% by mid‑2024.
On February 1, 2024, Canal+ launched a takeover offer at R105 (Ksh757) per share, which MultiChoice initially rejected as undervalued.
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Shortly after, Canal+ raised the bid to R125 per share (Ksh903), which the independent board declared fair and reasonable.
MultiChoice shareholders were asked to sell their remaining shares at this price. By May 2024, Canal+ had increased its shareholding to 45.2%, continuing open-market acquisitions under the same offer terms.
“Africa is the future of pay-TV. With MultiChoice, we build a truly African powerhouse, one that produces and delivers world-class content by Africans, for Africans,” said Maxim Saada, the CEO of Canal+.
South African law caps foreign ownership at 20% of broadcasting licences. To comply, MultiChoice agreed to spin off its South African broadcasting operations into a separately controlled licensing entity (often referred to as “LicenceCo”) majority‑owned by Historically Disadvantaged Persons, with Canal+ retaining a minority economic interest.
The takeover was classified as a large merger, requiring approval from the Competition Commission and Tribunal, tied to public interest commitments worth about Ksh188 billion over three years, especially toward empowerment and SME participation.
On July 23, 2025, South Africa’s Competition Tribunal granted conditional approval to Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice.
Canal+ in Africa
Canal+ is a major French pay-television company and content producer with significant international operations, including across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Started in 1984, it has its headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, with its key brands being Canal+ (France), myCanal, StudioCanal, and Canal+ Afrique.
Canal+ has operated in Africa since the 1990s, especially in Francophone countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, the DRC, and Burkina Faso.
Their African arm, Canal+ Afrique, provides French-language TV and local content across dozens of countries.
Key African Moves:
- Local channels like A+, Nollywood TV, and Novelas TV
- Partnerships with local content producers
- Aggressive growth in subscriber base: ~8–10 million subscribers across Africa pre-MultiChoice deal
- Expansion of digital offering through myCanal, a streaming platform available in Africa
Strategic Focus
Subscription growth in Europe is stagnating due to competition from Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+. Africa remains one of the last growth frontiers for pay-TV.
Africa’s population is young, growing, and increasingly connected. MultiChoice already had 22+ million subscribers.
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Merging Canal+’s base (especially Francophone countries with 10 million customers) with MultiChoice (Anglophone dominance) creates a pan-African media titan.
Combined, they become the largest pay-TV platform in Africa, covering nearly all African regions.
The merger means the two companies can distribute, localize, and stream content across 50+ countries in multiple languages: English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Hausa, Zulu, etc.
Canal+ owns StudioCanal, one of Europe’s largest film production studios. They aim to bring African original content into global streaming markets.
The company is now in a strengthened position to compete with Netflix, Disney+, Showmax, and Prime Video.
Most importantly, the company now has a single platform to stream, distribute, and license content continent-wide.
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