‘Fair and reasonable’ — MultiChoice board backs Canal+ $2.9bn buyout offer

The deal made by Canal+ Group, a French TV channel, to acquire South Africa’s MultiChoice at $2.9 billion has been considered “fair and reasonable”.

According to Reuters, the independent board set up by Multichoice spoke on the deal on Tuesday.

The board said “the terms and conditions of the offer are fair and reasonable to MultiChoice shareholders”.

Canal+ is a top shareholder in MultiChoice with a 45.2 percent stake, according to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data.

On February 2, Canal+ proposed to buy the remaining shares at MultiChoice at $1.69 billion, however, the deal was rejected by the South African firm.

In April, the French company raised the offer to $2.9 billion to acquire MultiChoice.

The report said Canal+ made a firm offer of 125 rands in cash per MultiChoice share, or about 35 billion rands ($1.88 billion), which valued the company at about 55 billion rands.

According to Reuters, while the offer is expected to close by April 2025, there are two major hurdles to the deal — even if MultiChoice shareholders vote in favour.

“One is the fact that the deal will have to be approved by the country’s antitrust regulator, the competition commission, which will also factor in the “public interest” of such a deal, and secondly, a potentially larger hurdle is South Africa’s electronic communications Act, which prohibits foreign entities from holding more than 20 percent of the voting rights of a local broadcasting rights holder,” a part of the report reads.

Speaking on a media call on Tuesday, Maxime Saada, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Canal+, said the company had already invested close to €1.2 billion in buying a 45.2 percent stake in MultiChoice.

Saada said the two companies are currently assessing and finalising a suitable structure for the licensed activities of MultiChoice Group.

He also said his major concern is the Act that prohibits foreign entities from holding more than 20 percent of votes.

“I don’t see the Black economic empowerment as a hurdle. The foreign ownership is a hurdle,” Saada said.

The CEO, nevertheless, said Canal+ had drawn a lot of interest from potential partners in South Africa but it was too early to disclose details.

He added that the deal must first be approved by the regulator.

“I would rather, of course, it happens fast. Not because I’m impatient, but because the competition doesn’t wait,” he said.

The company also plans to have the new entity listed in Europe and Johannesburg between the end of 2024 and the first half of 2025, Reuters said.