by Bloomberg
Canal+ will try to circumvent South Africa's foreign media ownership regulations in its takeover attempt of MultiChoice through a stock exchange double-listing of the new entity in both South Africa as well as in Europe.
Canal+ formally made an upped offer of R35 billion for MultiChoice as it tries a buyout of the powerful pan-African pay-TV operator. Canal+ values MultiChoice at $2.9 billion (R54.02 billion).
Vivendi SE's Canal+ plans to use its all-cash offer for the MultiChoice Group to create a global media company listed in Europe and South Africa that will compete with American entertainment giants.
"A combined entity will be double listed in Europe and Johannesburg," Canal+ chief executive officer Maxime Saada said in an interview on Monday.
The plan to keep a local listing comes as the French company must navigate South Africa's strict limits on foreign media ownership in order to close the deal.
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe could join Canal+ to get a deal done, although discussions are at an early stage, Bloomberg previously reported citing people familiar with the matter.
"We are confident that we can address the foreign ownership topic, as we are present in 50 countries and there are a number of countries where this type of rule is in place, including in France," said Saada.
Vivendi is preparing a plan to split into four publicly traded units, including Canal+, as it seeks better value from its assets after it listed its most valuable business, Universal Music Group NV.
Saada said the deal was intended to boost scale and purchasing power when going up against competitors to buy US content.
"To extract value from that, and invest in African content and help it reach global audiences, it only makes sense to be part of a global company," Saada said.
MultiChoice balked at the initial offer of R105 per share and Canal+ since raised its bid to R125.
Canal+ began buying shares in MultiChoice in 2020 and surpassed a 35% holding in the company this year, triggering a mandatory takeover offer.
Vivendi has developed a strong presence in high-growth regions in Africa and Asia. Vivendi said previously that it plans to keep MultiChoice listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The latest deal could see a combination of Canal+ operations with MultiChoice creating a group with almost 50 million subscribers.
