French media giant Vivendi’s subsidiary Canal+ increased its offer to buy all remaining shares of South African broadcaster MultiChoice that it doesn’t already own, Reuters reported.
The all-cash offer totals 35 billion rand ($1.9 billion).
This follows an earlier offer in February that MultiChoice rejected as too low. Canal+ became obligated to make a full offer after increasing its stake in MultiChoice above 35%.
“The new offer values MultiChoice at 55 billion rand and could create a major African broadcasting powerhouse. The combined company would have 31.5 million subscribers across 50 countries, with a strong presence in both French-speaking and English-speaking African markets.”
According to reports, Canal+ believes the African media landscape is changing rapidly due to increasing internet and smartphone adoption. A combined Canal+-MultiChoice would be better positioned to compete in this evolving market.
MultiChoice’s independent board will now review the bid. Canal+ can still buy more shares on the open market, but if they pay more than the offered 125 rand per share, they would have to raise the overall offer price.
The deal faces challenges from South Africa’s regulations on Black economic ownership and foreign media ownership. Canal+ will need to find solutions that comply with these regulations, potentially including partnering with local companies.
Both companies plan to follow all applicable laws and will provide more information on how they plan to address regulatory hurdles.
