Report: Canal+ offers $2.9bn to buy out MultiChoice

Canal+ Group, a French TV channel, has announced plans to offer $2.9 billion to acquire South Africa’s MultiChoice deal.

The company raised its offer from the initial $1.69 billion proposed in February.

Canal+ is a top shareholder in MultiChoice with a 31.67 percent stake, according to data on London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), however, the deal was rejected by the South African firm.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, Maxime Saada, chief executive officer (CEO) of  Canal+, said the firm would create a global media company listed in Europe and South Africa that will compete with US entertainment giants.

“A combined entity will be double listed in Europe and Johannesburg,” Saada said.

With Canal+ formal bid at $2.9 billion, the firm seeks to expand its presence in Africa.

“We are confident that we can address the foreign ownership topic, as we are present in 50 countries and there are a number of countries where this type of rule is in place, including in France,” said Saada. 

According to the French firm, it is preparing a plan to split into four publicly traded units, as it seeks better value from its assets after it listed its most valuable business, Universal Music Group.

Saada added that the deal was intended to boost scale and purchasing power when going up against competitors to buy US content.

“To extract value from that, and invest in African content and help it reach global audiences, it only makes sense to be part of a global company,” Saada said. 

MultiChoice’s shares rose 4.2 percent to 117 rands as of 12:38 pm. in Johannesburg and are up by about a quarter since Canal+ first announced its plan to purchase the firm in February.