Overview:

After it's $2.02 billion acquisition of South African broadcaster MultiChoice, French media group Canal+ announced a new board to lead the company.

JOHANNESBURG — French media company Groupe Canal+ S.A.S. has gained effective control of MultiChoice Group Ltd. after its mandatory offer became unconditional Monday, completing the largest transaction in the French media company’s history. The acquisition creates a global media and entertainment company with more than 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries and a workforce of about 17,000 employees.

As of Sept. 19, Canal+ directly owned 200,030,591 MultiChoice shares, representing 46% of the company. Acceptances for another 9,767,641 shares, or 2.2%, had already been tendered, putting Canal+ firmly in control.

In a significant leadership shake-up, the MultiChoice board has been reshaped to reflect the new ownership structure. The new nine-member board is chaired by Canal+ chief Maxime Saada and includes CEO David Mignot, CFO Nicolas Dandoy and Jacques du Puy. Independent directors Elias Masilela, Kgomotso Moroka, Louisa Stephens, Deborah Klein and James du Preez remain in their roles. Outgoing directors Calvo Mawela, Timothy Jacobs, Christine Sabwa, Fatai Sanusi and Andrea Zappia resigned with the finalization announcement. Mawela, the former MultiChoice CEO, will now chair Canal+ Africa. Mignot and Dandoy will oversee Canal+’s operations across the continent, while Jacobs, the outgoing CFO, will remain in a senior finance role in the combined group.

The companies also confirmed that voting restrictions on foreign shareholders, previously required under South Africa’s broadcasting laws, no longer apply after a corporate reorganization brought MultiChoice’s licensing entity into compliance. As a result, Canal+ can now exercise full voting rights on its shares.

In South Africa, Canal+ and MultiChoice pledged to support companies controlled by historically disadvantaged persons and small businesses in the audiovisual sector, while maintaining investment in local entertainment and sports programming. For customers, subscription and billing arrangements will remain unchanged. Canal+ plans to release a detailed strategic update on the combined group in early 2026.

The transaction is part of a strategic move by Groupe Canal+ to expand its presence and compete with global streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The deal could reshape the African media landscape by combining Groupe Canal+’s French-language content with MultiChoice’s vast English and Portuguese programming.

In Uganda, MultiChoice and its sister company, GOTV Uganda, are in the final stages of a change in control that will see Groupe Canal+ take over full ownership. The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is currently reviewing the application to transfer the licenses, a mandatory step under Ugandan law to ensure the public interest is considered before a license transfer is approved.

MultiChoice will also align its financial year-end with Canal+, shifting from March 31 to Dec. 31. Interim results for the six months ending Sept. 30 are expected within three months, with audited results for the nine months ending Dec. 31 to follow in early 2026.

The offer, priced at 125 rand ($6.60) per share, is scheduled to close at noon Friday, Oct. 10. The last day for shareholders to trade in order to accept is Tuesday, Oct. 7. Final payment is set for Friday, Oct. 17.