French Firm To Acquire Multichoice In $1.7b Deal

France’s media and telecommunications conglomerate, Vivendi, owners of Canal Plus, has offered to buy all the shares it does not own in South Africa’s MultiChoice Group in a deal worth roughly $1.7 billion. Canal Plus, the top shareholder in MultiChoice with a 31.67 per cent stake, according to LSEG data, said it would likely pay 105 rand in cash per share, a 40 per cent premium to MultiChoice’s closing share price on Wednesday. According to Reuters, shares in MultiChoice surged more in yesterday’s trading but were still far below the offer price indicating a lack of investor confidence that the deal would go through. They were last up 23 per cent at 92 rand. Canal Plus said its current offer, worth 31.7 billion rand according to Reuters calculations, is non-binding and indicative and that once due diligence has been completed, it intends to deliver a letter of firm intention to MultiChoice’s board. MultiChoice, which operates in 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said it had received a letter from the French media company and would update shareholders should there be any further developments. Chairman and CEO of Canal Plus, Maxime Saada, in a statement, said: “For MultiChoice to continue to thrive in Africa, it will require a strategy that enhances its scale as well as strengthened local and global expertise. Our potential offer, if successful, would be an important next step for MultiChoice to realise its full potential.”