𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥+ 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒’𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞

France’s Canal+ said Wednesday it had cleared the final regulatory hurdle for the buyout of Africa’s largest pay TV enterprise, MultiChoice, and further expand its footprint on the continent.

The company said in a statement that the South African Competition Tribunal had given its approval for Canal+ to acquire the approximately 55 per cent of MultiChoice shares it does not already own.

The approval “clears the way for us to conclude the transaction in line with our previously communicated timeline” by October 8 at the latest, Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in a statement.

“I’m excited about the potential this transaction unlocks for all stakeholders… the combined Group will benefit from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies,” he added.

Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group.

MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers, it says. It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

“It is a hugely positive step forward in our journey to bring together two iconic media and entertainment companies and create a true champion for Africa,” Saada said about combining Canal+’s French language offerings with the English and Portuguese content on MultiChoice.

Canal+ hopes that the acquisition will allow it to grow to 50 to 100 million subscribers in a few years, from 27 million currently.

The mandatory share offer of 125 rand (6 euros) per share values MultiChoice values the company at $3.0 billion (2.6 billion euros).

The approval came with several public-interest conditions worth about 26 billion rand over three years and keeping MultiChoice’s headquarters in South Africa.

Shares in Canal+ climbed 1.3 per cent in trading in London, and are up 12.8 per cent this year.

AFP