Multichoice is trending because the parent company of DSTV and GoTV is set to be sold to a French media outlet, Canal+ in a $2.9bn acquisition deal at 67% premium!
The deal has been in negotiations since 2020, and would finally be completed this October 2025, giving Canal+ additional 55% stake and total ownership of Multichoice.
Initially in 2020 Canal+ owned by Vevndi Streaming, acquired 6.5% of Multichoice. By 2024, they already had 41.6%.
Since it was over 35%, according to the South African Companies Act of 2008 and JSE Listings requirements, Canal+ were mandated to make full acquisition of Multichoice.
So, Canal+ made an initial offer of $1.7bn in 2024 for the full company ownership, which the Take Over Regulation Panel found disrespectful, because Multichoice went public with the offer.
They appealed, and after a year, Canal+ has been cleared to complete the takeover.
Multichoice is excited about the prospect of this take over, as it would help them with innovations. — Showmax, SuperSport all will be under Canal+.
Canal+ has about 1m subscribers in Africa, while Multichoice has an estimated 14-19M subscribers. So, Canal+ is looking to expand across Africa and Asia, adding to it’s existing 8M+ subscribers.
Nigerians are unsure of what to expect from this acquisition. As many, believe it is a strategy to give France, total media control in Africa. While some are optimistic it would improve their services.
Interestingly, Canal+ are behind the weekly payment innovation, that’s reportedly currently in Beta in Nigeria.
This is not their first acquisition in Africa. In 2015, they acquired 19% of iRokoTv. And in 2019 they acquired 100% of Rok Studios for an undisclosed sum.
