Rédaction Africa Links 24 with techfocus24
Published on 2024-02-02 07:44:07
Canal+ made headlines when it announced its non-binding indicative offer to acquire South African pay-TV giant MultiChoice for approximately $1.7 billion. The offer, which represents a premium of 40% to MultiChoice’s closing share price, included a proposed acquisition of all of the issued ordinary shares not already owned by Canal+.
The potential acquisition comes after Canal+ steadily increased its ownership of MultiChoice shares through a creeping takeover strategy. This approach raised concerns about potential violations of South Africa’s Electronic Communications Act, although MultiChoice maintained that the limitations outlined in their memorandum of incorporation aligned with the Act.
Canal+ emphasized the transformative potential of the acquisition, stating that it would elevate MultiChoice into a global-scale media company. Furthermore, the lack of scale for MultiChoice was noted as a potential issue that could be alleviated through the proposed acquisition.
Despite this announcement, Canal+ highlighted the uncertainties surrounding the progression and terms of the potential offer, emphasizing its respect for laws and regulations in South Africa’s media sector and commitment to compliance with Johannesburg Stock Exchange requirements.
Additionally, Canal+ revealed its active preparations for a listing following the unbundling of its parent company, Vivendi, with the ambition to obtain a listing in South Africa. The company articulated its goal of creating an African media business with enhanced scale, offering a wide array of sports, local, and global content while ensuring that Africa could tell its story to a global audience on its own terms.
Scale was identified as a crucial factor for success in the increasingly globalized and competitive media industry. Canal+ believed that a combination with MultiChoice would create a group with substantial scale, securing MultiChoice’s long-term trajectory and enabling it to thrive.
Alongside its commitment to South Africa’s creative industry, local sports, and B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment), Canal+ Chairman and CEO Maxime Saada emphasized the company’s role as a long-term investor in both MultiChoice and South Africa. He emphasized the need for a strategy that enhanced MultiChoice’s scale and expertise in order to ensure its success in Africa and its ability to compete with global streaming media giants.
Saada expressed Canal+’s vision to build on its cooperation with MultiChoice to commission African content, support local production companies, and deepen access to international sport while investing in and promoting local sport and their stars and ambassadors.
The potential combination of Canal+ and MultiChoice was presented as a means to navigate structural challenges within the media sector, create and secure jobs, and provide a platform for the continued success of MultiChoice as Africa’s leading media company. Overall, the proposed acquisition aims to bolster MultiChoice’s position and facilitate its growth in an evolving media landscape.
