The French are moving quickly to stamp their authority on MultiChoice Group, announcing on Monday that CEO Calvo Mawela is longer CEO of the South African broadcaster.
This follows news on Monday morning that Groupe Canal+’s acquisition of the South African pay-television giant has become unconditional. Mawela will be replaced in the role by Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot.
“The MultiChoice Group board has made certain changes to its composition and leadership team to allow for suitable Canal+ representation, while maintaining its independence,” MultiChoice said in a statement on Monday.
The London-listed French media giant on Monday assumed effective control of MultiChoice Group after its mandatory R125/share offer for the JSE-listed pay-TV operator went unconditional, marking the largest transaction in the history of Canal+.
The move cements the creation of a global broadcasting powerhouse with more than 40 million subscribers across 70 countries and a combined workforce of 17 000 people.
It also draws to a close a complex reorganisation of MultiChoice’s South African operations, designed to comply with strict foreign-ownership limits under the Electronic Communications Act.
The transaction, Canal+’s largest ever, sets up a business spanning Europe, Africa and Asia, with ambitions to ramp up investment in local and international content. Canal+ has committed to public-interest undertakings in South Africa, including support for black-controlled and small firms in the audiovisual sector and ongoing funding for local sports and general entertainment programming.
Integration
Integration between the two companies begins immediately, with a full strategic update promised in the first quarter of 2026. For now, MultiChoice customers will see no changes to billing or subscriptions.
The MultiChoice board has been reconstituted to reflect Canal+’s new influence while retaining a majority of independent directors:
- Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada will chair the board, while Mawela will chair the board of MultiChoice Group parent Canal+ Africa;
- The lead independent director is Elias Masilela, who previously served as chairman; and
- The new chief financial officer is Nicolas Dandoy.
Kgomotso Moroka, Louisa Stephens, Deborah Klein and James du Preez will serve as independent non-executive directors. The remaining members of the previous board (Mawela, Timothy Jacobs, Christine Sabwa, Fatai Sanusi and Andrea Zappia) resigned as directors with effect from the release of the takeover bid’s finalisation announcement on Monday.
“Canal+ and MultiChoice Group express their deep appreciation for the vital role they played in building the company and for their leadership, alongside the rest of the board, in securing this transformative transaction,” said the two companies.
MultiChoice will hold a shareholder meeting “in the coming weeks” to vote on proposals to elect Anant Singh as an independent non-executive director, Amandine Ferre as an executive director and Mireille Kabamba as non-executive director. — (c) 2025 NewsCentral Media
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