Canal+ has increased its holding in MultiChoice to 45.2%, after the French media group bought 7.37-million more shares as it forges ahead in its bid to take control of Africa’s biggest pay-TV operator.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that the on- and off-market transactions have already been disclosed to the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP).
At the beginning of May, the TRP granted MultiChoice and Canal+ an extension to distribute a combined circular to shareholders outlining details of the French group’s bid to take over MultiChoice.
The panel has given them an extension to June 4 to release a circular. This had been initially expected on May 7, being 20 business days from the date of the firm intention announcement made in early April.
The takeover regulation panel requires a combined circular to shareholders in takeover situations to provide all relevant information and ensure informed decision-making by shareholders. It outlines details of the offer, including reasons behind it, terms for shareholders, and potential implications.
Canal+ has been aggressively buying up shares for almost four years after it started building its stake with an initial purchase of 6.5% in October 2020.At the beginning of February, the Paris-based company made an offer to buy the rest of the company at R105 a share, or just more than R31bn, in what would have been the biggest M&A deal in SA so far in 2024.
The DStv owner snubbed the offer as too low for the business and its prospects, even though it is at the top end of the target price range that analysts and brokers have for the stock. Canal+ then raised its offer to R125 per share on March 5.
A day later, Canal+’s stake had grown to 35.01%, triggering a mandatory offer according to rules set by the takeover regulation panel.
On April 8, Canal+ and MultiChoice said they had entered into a co-operation agreement regarding the proposed mandatory offer.
When the pay-TV subsidiary of media conglomerate Vivendi first took a position in MultiChoice, it said it was a long-term financial investment and demonstrated its confidence in the prospects of the company and of the African continent, its largest market outside its home market.
A few years later, Canal+ pitched the transaction as an opportunity to create an African media business powerhouse with operations in key markets on the continent, from SA and Nigeria to Senegal and Cameroon. Other large MultiChoice shareholders include the Public Investment Corporation, M&G and Allan Gray.
With Mudiwa Gavaza
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