French media conglomerate, Canal Plus, has acquired the remaining 55% stake in Multichoice Group- Africa’s largest pay TV enterprise, in a landmark $3 billion deal.
This development came after South Africa’s Competition Tribunal gave the approval for Canal+ to acquire the approximately 55 per cent shares it does not already own, on Wednesday.
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, owners of DStv and GOtv 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.
