French media giant Canal+ is looking to become a major player in African entertainment. On Monday, April 8, 2024, they offered $2.9 billion to buy the rest of the shares in Multichoice. Multichoice is a South African company that owns popular services like Showmax, DStv, and Africa Magic.
If the deal goes through, Canal+ will take complete ownership of Multichoice. This could have a big impact on the African entertainment landscape. Canal+ is potentially bringing new content and services to the continent.
“A combined group would be better positioned to address key structural challenges and opportunities resulting from the progressive digitalisation and globalisation of the media and entertainment sector,” the companies said.
But hold on, it’s not that simple. Canal+ already owned most of Multichoice, but they recently offered to buy the remaining shares for $2.9 billion. This is actually a sweeter deal than their previous offer back in February, which Multichoice’s board rejected because they felt it was too low. This new offer is in cash and works out to $6.73 per share.
Will Multichoice play ball this time? We don’t know yet. Their board will need to review the offer carefully. Even if they agree, there are still hurdles to jump. South African laws require companies to have black ownership and limit foreign media ownership. Canal+ will need to adjust its board to meet these requirements. They’re working on finding local partners to help, and there have even been rumours that a South African billionaire might join the bid to help meet the Black ownership requirement.
One last wrinkle: Multichoice is bigger in English-speaking countries like South Africa and Nigeria, while Canal+ has a stronger presence in French-speaking African nations. If the deal goes through, it could be interesting to see how Canal+ navigates this difference in languages and audiences.