French media giant Canal+ is to list on the JSE on June 3 with a market capitalisation of just over R50bn, it said on Tuesday.
The JSE has granted approval to Canal+, the new owner of MultiChoice, for a secondary listing using the fast-track listing process of all its 991.9-million shares, with a nominal value of €0.25 each (R4.12), on the bourse’s Main Board.
It will trade under the abbreviated name Canalplus, with the share code CNP.
The shares will trade in rand on the JSE, where they will be listed in the Media sector and the Radio and TV Broadcasters sub-sector.
As of closing on the day prior to issuing its pre-listing statement, Canal+ had a market capitalisation of £2.25bn, or about R51bn, it said.
Canal+ is listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it will retain its primary listing. “The secondary inward listing will provide investors on the JSE with the opportunity to invest directly in a leading global media and entertainment company and enhance the long-term liquidity and tradability of Canal+ shares,” the company said on Tuesday.
The combined group now benefits from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies
— Canal+
The listing fulfils the company’s commitment to proceed with a secondary inward listing on the JSE within nine months after the delisting of MultiChoice in December 2025, it added.
This commitment was proposed voluntarily by the company in the context of its acquisition of MultiChoice, ahead of any formal requirement by the South African competition authorities, and subsequently accepted by the Competition Tribunal as part of its merger approval.
“The listing goes therefore beyond regulatory compliance and reflects the company’s genuine intention to maintain a meaningful presence on the South African capital market,” the company said.
Founded as a French subscription-TV channel over 40 years ago, Canal+ has grown into a global media and entertainment company that operates across the entire audio-visual value chain through three business segments — Europe, Africa and Asia, and content production, distribution.
The group’s business model is designed to provide subscribers with locally valued and globally recognised premium content on its unique platform.
It completed the takeover of MultiChoice, the owner of DStv, GOtv, M-Net and SuperSport, late last year after building its stake over a period of time, and has set about integrating the business into the group.
“The combined group now benefits from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies,” Canal+ said in its prelisting statement.
At the end of 2025, Canal+ had more than 42-million subscribers worldwide and operates in over 70 countries and has approximately 15,000 employees. In Europe the group operates a subscription-based, advertising-supported television and over-the-top (OTT) business with over 18-million customers across 12 countries. The Africa and Asia segment has 23-million Pay-TV subscribers across more than 40 countries.
While the group deploys the same Pay-TV strategy of providing a rich mix of content to subscribers across its markets, it is taking a different approach to investment in Africa given the scale of the growth opportunity compared to the relative maturity of its European markets, it said.
“This includes investing in local content production, technology and skills development to support the African cultural economy, as well as implementing go-to-market strategies that reflect differing consumer preferences and market dynamics.”
In addition, the group’s specialist fibre to the home provider, GVA, provides fibre connectivity to homes in nine African countries, it said.
Canal+ said the benefits of the secondary listing include providing the local investor community with the opportunity to invest in the only global entertainment and broadcasting company listed on the JSE and to participate in the company’s income and capital growth potential.
It also enhances the long-term liquidity and tradability in the company’s shares through a robust and internationally recognised exchange and diversifies the company’s shareholder base. In addition, it creates the option of raising future capital in a new market to fund further acquisitions.
Canal+ will not place or issue any new shares in connection with its secondary inward listing and no new capital will be raised on the listing date.
It said sub-Saharan Africa represents a significant growth opportunity, with the continent’s population expected to grow to 2-billion by 2050, and GDP expected to expand by 4.5% between 2026 and 2030.
“Higher purchasing power, ongoing growth of electrified households (currently at only 50%) and increased OTT penetration (set to rise materially from 4% at present) provide a strong underpin to robust long-term growth prospects,” it said.
Business Day
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