Groupe Canal+’s planned acquisition of South Africa’s MultiChoice Group has been hit by a delay as the companies work to overcome the regulatory hurdles.

The companies have extended the so-called “long stop date” for the transaction by five months to give them more time to convince regulators to allow the deal to proceed.

Canal+, which is headquartered in France and which was recently listed on the London Stock Exchange, has offered MultiChoice shareholders R125/share in cash.

“The process of obtaining merger control clearance from the South African competition authorities and the relevant regulatory processes is ongoing. These will not be complete by the long stop date of 8 April 2025, which is the date on which all the conditions for the implementation of the offer must be fulfilled or waived,” the companies said.

“Accordingly … Canal+ has extended the long stop date for the fulfilment of the conditions to 8 October 2025. MultiChoice and Canal+ are of the view that this provides ample time for the fulfilment of the conditions. Save for the extension of the long stop date, the terms of the offer remain unchanged,” they added.

Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+, said in a statement that the decision to extend the long stop date “reflects our recognition of the hard work and positive progress achieved by all the parties and stakeholders in working towards securing the necessary clearances for this transformative transaction”.

‘Timing is critical’

“The timing of this transaction is critical, and we will continue working tirelessly to ensure finalisation of the transaction within this timeframe to ensure it retains its intended value and impact for all stakeholders,” he said.

In an effort to get the acquisition over the line, MultiChoice — which owns DStv, SuperSport and Showmax — last month announced a plan to carve out its South African licensee into a new entity.

Read: The dark horse in SA streaming – and Canal+ is a big investor

The move is designed to allow Canal+ to proceed with the acquisition without falling foul of the Electronic Communications Act, which prohibits foreign entities from owning more than 20% of a South African broadcasting licensee.

If it gets the go-ahead from regulators, new investors in the South African licensee will include former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko’s Afrifund Investments and businesswoman Sonja de Bruyn’s Identity Partners.

“MultiChoice Group will be restructured so that the current holder of the broadcasting licence in South Africa and the entity that contracts with South African subscribers, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd, will be carved out of MultiChoice Group and will become an independent entity… The remainder of the group’s video entertainment assets will remain part of MultiChoice Group,” Canal+ and MultiChoice said.

Read: MultiChoice CEO says Canal+ deal will help it take on Netflix

The South African broadcast licence holder, called LicenceCo, will “continue to hold the subscription broadcasting licence in South Africa” and will continue to “contract with MultiChoice’s South African subscribers”. It will be majority owned by “historically disadvantaged persons”. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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