Canal+, the Vivendi-owned pay-TV broadcaster, has increased its bid to acquire MultiChoice and has now entered exclusive talks to take complete control of the South African media group.
The France-based broadcaster has raised its offer to 125 rand ($6.59) per ordinary share, which values the company at 55 billion rand ($2.9 billion).
Canal+ was forced to up its bid after MultiChoice – which runs pay-TV sports heavyweight SuperSport – rejected a previous offer of 105 rand per share.
According to Bloomberg, MultiChoice shares have risen 52 percent since the Canal+ bid was first announced on February 1 and climbed 4.7 percent on Tuesday (March 4), after the new offer.
“Both companies have mutually agreed to cooperate, and MultiChoice has agreed it will give exclusivity to Canal Plus,” Maxime Saada, Canal+ chairman and chief executive, said.
