CANAL+ SET TO TAKE OVER DSTV, GOTV OWNER MULTICHOICE

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By Oduola F.A.

South Africa’s competition watchdog announced on Wednesday that it has approved the acquisition of Africa’s biggest pay-TV provider, MultiChoice, by France’s Canal+, as part of the French company’s push to strengthen its presence across the continent.

The deal, nearly a year in the making, now awaits final approval from the Competition Tribunal, according to the commission’s statement.

Canal+ holds around 45 percent of MultiChoice’s shares and offered last year to acquire the remainder for 125 rand (6.16 euro) per share.

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 19.3 million subscribers, it says. It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

“This is a major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart,” Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said in a statement.

The commission said its approval of the merger was subject to public-interest conditions worth about 26 billion rand over three years, including increasing the shareholding of people disadvantaged under South Africa’s white-minority apartheid regime.

It will also maintain the MultiChoice headquarters in South Africa.

A date for the Tribunal’s decision on the merger has not been announced but Canal+ said it was aiming for the deal to be completed by early October.