Canal+ progresses in its acquisition of MultiChoice.
The improved offer from French media giants Canal+, which is worth $2.9 billion (roughly Shs11 trillion) to fully acquire the South African broadcasting company, has left Multichoice with little to no options.
In an attempt to increase its 35 percent ownership stake in Multichoice to 100 percent, Canal+ made an offer in February of $1.7 billion to acquire the entire company.
The board of the South African broadcaster rejected the first offer, claiming it was too low for the business.
Nonetheless, Multichoice finds the most recent offer to be more alluring.
Multichoice is Africa’s largest provider of pay TV services, with up to 21.8 million subscribers largely on its premier offer, DStv, and streaming service Showmax.
The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), one of Multichoice’s most important continental staples, was not on its menu in January, and the company looked to be reeling from the upheaval until some last-minute paperwork was completed and signed.
Although DSTV platforms typically enthusiastically promote Afcon tournaments, the most recent event in Ivory Coast was a complete bust.
Nonetheless, Canal+ seems determined to seize control of the African continent, where they have been present for more than 30 years in 25 countries, most of which are in West Africa and other French-speaking regions.
With 21.8 million subscribers, nearly 80 percent of them are Anglophone in countries like Nigeria (the country with the largest market share), Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
As part of its plan to increase its footprint on the continent beyond West African and French-speaking nations, Canal+ intends to acquire Multichoice.
Affected severely by streaming services and a drop in subscribers, Multichoice has been increasing DStv subscription rates in a number of the continent’s markets, including Uganda.
It was only last week that DStv Uganda increased the price of its premium content subscription to Shs290,000 per month, from Shs275,000 that it first launched six months prior.
Other packages such as Compact-Plus and Compact also increased by Shs10,000 to Shs6,000.
