FRENCH media conglomerate Canal+ has officially completed a $3 billion acquisition of South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, securing 100% ownership of the continent’s largest pay-TV operator and its major platforms, DStv and GOtv.
The acquisition, which had been months in the making, was approved on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, by South Africa’s Competition Tribunal. The deal, worth about 55 billion rand, follows an extensive regulatory review and months of negotiations.
Canal+, which already held a 45.2% stake in MultiChoice since gradually increasing its investment from 2020, made a mandatory buyout offer in 2023 at 125 rand per share, valuing the company at around $3 billion.
Now with full control, Canal+ will oversee MultiChoice’s network of 14.5 million subscribers across 50 sub-Saharan African countries, giving it ownership of premium channels such as SuperSport, and expanding its influence in the African content market.
“This is a transformative deal,” said Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada, emphasizing that the merger brings greater scale, deeper market penetration, and the ability to leverage synergies between the two media giants.
The merger creates a multilingual content powerhouse, combining Canal+’s French-language content with MultiChoice’s strong English and Portuguese programming allowing it to serve an even broader African audience.
Industry analysts expect the deal to: spark increased investment in local content, drive technology upgrades and digital expansion and fuel growth in sports broadcasting and original productions
As part of its conditional approval, the Competition Tribunal required Canal+ to invest 26 billion rand over the next three years in South Africa’s media industry.
The conditions include: retaining MultiChoice’s headquarters in South Africa and sustaining funding for local entertainment and sports and supporting South African content creators and production houses.
In a joint statement, the companies pledged to continue prioritizing South African content and talent development: ‘we remain committed to enriching the South African media ecosystem and ensuring strong, sustainable opportunities for local creators.”
With this acquisition, Canal+ is now positioned to reshape Africa’s pay-TV landscape, challenge streaming competitors, and assert dominance across the continent’s fast-growing media markets.
Analysts say the deal underscores the growing global interest in Africa’s content economy, a market rich with creative potential, cultural diversity, and millions of untapped digital viewers.
