Canal Plus makes $1.7 billion offer to buy South Africa's MultiChoice

French media company Canal Plus has made a $1.7 billion offer to acquire all outstanding shares of South Africa's MultiChoice Group, in which it is already the largest shareholder with a 31.67% stake. 

Canal Plus aims to enhance MultiChoice's position in the competitive international market, proposing a cash payment of 105 rand per share, representing a 40% premium to MultiChoice's closing share price on Wednesday. 

Despite MultiChoice's shares rising significantly in response, investor confidence remains uncertain about the deal's completion. 

Canal Plus clarified that the offer is non-binding and indicative, with a firm intention letter to be delivered upon completion of due diligence. MultiChoice, operating in 50 sub-Saharan African countries, acknowledged the letter from Canal Plus and will update shareholders accordingly. 

Maxime Saada, Chairman and CEO of Canal Plus, emphasized that the potential deal would help MultiChoice realize its full potential by providing resources for scale, local talent, and storytelling. 

MultiChoice, facing competition from global streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, has invested substantially in local content and recently partnered with Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky to revamp its Showmax streaming service. 

Canal Plus also expressed plans to list independently, aligning with parent company Vivendi's proposal to split into four entities, and eventually aims for a listing in South Africa.