Former MultiChoice chair and group CEO Nolo Letele is not in favour of a tie up between the DStv owner and Canal+, hinting that the two companies may not be a good cultural fit.
MultiChoice has been the target of a takeover bid by Canal+ since February 1, when the French broadcast group made an offer to buy all the shares it does not already own in the African entertainment group, for R105 a share. This has since been sweetened further to R125.
Canal+, which has so far spent €1.2bn (R24.3bn) buying up shares in the DStv operator, has 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.
While regulatory hurdles around foreign ownership of media assets in SA have already been flagged, cultural differences have now been brought into question by Letele, a veteran who has been associated with Africa’s largest pay TV group since 1990.
“Canal+ has always been out there and addressing the French speaking countries. There’s never been any direct collaboration of any kind. From where I’m sitting, do I think it’s a good thing? I don’t think so. And that’s a personal opinion. I’m not speaking for management here or for the board,” Letele told Business Day.
“I know … I’ve worked with the French. Their style is so different. I don’t think it will be good for the company, for MultiChoice. But we wait and see.”
Letele is the person credited with leading MultiChoice’s expansion beyond SA’s borders, with the group’s services now having a presence in 50 African countries.
Having helped to start the first TV station in Lesotho, together with MNet in 1988, he joined MNet in 1990.
In 1999, he was appointed as MultiChoice group CEO, a position he held until 2010, when he was appointed executive chair of MultiChoice SA, a position he held for 11 years. He then became a non-executive director of MultiChoice Group after its unbundling out of Naspers and listing on the JSE in 2019.
Letele knows a thing or two about the culture of MultiChoice, given his role in helping to set up the group’s operations across the likes of Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and others.
Bad culture fits have toppled some of the largest mergers in the modern business world.
A famous example is the 2001 merger of US communications giant AOL and media group Time Warner. This tied was aimed to combine internet access with traditional media content. However, the companies had different cultures, business models, and customer bases. The merger ultimately failed to deliver on its promises and was dissolved in 2009.
A similar thread was seen in the doomed merger of German automaker Daimler-Benz and US car manufacturer Chrysler.
Last week, MultiChoice and Canal+ published and distributed the combined circular and the salient dates and times relating to the offer. The circular set out the terms of the offer and the MultiChoice independent board’s opinion on, and recommendation of, the offer.
The offer opened on June 5 and closes at noon on April 25 2025.
Canal+ has been aggressively buying shares for almost four years after it started building its stake with an initial purchase of 6.5% in October 2020.
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