Canal+ to make its JSE debut on June 3

French media giant Canal+ is to list on the JSE on June 3 with a market capitalisation of just over R50bn, it said on Tuesday.

The JSE has granted approval to Canal+, the new owner of MultiChoice, for a secondary listing using the fast-track listing process of all its 991.9-million shares, with a nominal value of €0.25 each (R4.12), on the bourse’s Main Board.

It will trade under the abbreviated name Canalplus, with the share code CNP.

Canal+ plans to overhaul MultiChoice with a back-to-basics strategy which involves reviving sales growth, hiring more than 1,000 field staff and protecting local content. Business Day TV unpacked the plan in more detail with Business Day’s Mudiwa Gavaza.

The shares will trade in rand on the JSE, where they will be listed in the Media sector and the Radio and TV Broadcasters sub-sector.

As of closing on the day prior to issuing its pre-listing statement, Canal+ had a market capitalisation of £2.25bn, or about R51bn, it said.

Canal+ is listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it will retain its primary listing. “The secondary inward listing will provide investors on the JSE with the opportunity to invest directly in a leading global media and entertainment company and enhance the long-term liquidity and tradability of Canal+ shares,” the company said on Tuesday.

The listing fulfils the company’s commitment to proceed with a secondary inward listing on the JSE within nine months after the delisting of MultiChoice in December 2025, it added.

This commitment was proposed voluntarily by the company in the context of its acquisition of MultiChoice, ahead of any formal requirement by the South African competition authorities, and subsequently accepted by the Competition Tribunal as part of its merger approval.

“The listing goes therefore beyond regulatory compliance and reflects the company’s genuine intention to maintain a meaningful presence on the South African capital market,” the company said.

MultiChoice risks losing a tenth of its annual revenue if the Competition Tribunal rules that it colluded with electronics maker Altech. If the commission wins the case, the two companies would be liable for an administrative penalty of up to 10% of their respective annual turnover. On Monday, the Competition Commission said it has referred a complaint against MultiChoice South Africa and Altech to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution. The body is seeking an order declaring that MultiChoice, now a unit of French broadcaster Canal+, and Altech contravened section 4 of the Competition Act. The referral, filed on April 15, suggests the parties conspired to divide markets, which is a contravention of the law. South Africa is by far MultiChoice’s largest segment. Based on the most recent full-year earnings report by MultiChoice, up to March 2025, South Africa’s contribution to group revenue stood at R41.7bn. The commission said its investigation revealed that in February 2014 MultiChoice and Altech agreed that Altech would not enter or compete in the pay-TV market in which the pay-TV provider operates. “This arrangement constitutes division of markets by allocating suppliers and /or specific type of goods or services,” the commission said. At the time, MultiChoice sourced its decoders from Altech, then a unit of JSE-listed Altron’s TMT division. Altech manufactures set-top boxes (decoders), used to operate subscription-based or pay television services. MultiChoice is a provider of pay-TV, which uses set-top boxes to provide its pay-TV services. MultiChoice sources the set-top boxes from Altech. In essence, Altech would not compete directly in pay-TV, a market dominated by a major customer at the time, MultiChoice. For a brief period, 2014-15, Altech launched its “Node” smart home and video-on-demand device, which was satellite-connected. Altron positioned the platform as competing in a separate market to MultiChoice’s DStv. The Node was one in a series of products that were shelved in the early days of video on demand in South Africa. By mid-2015, the ill-fated Node was on its way out. In May 2014, Altron CEO Robbie Venter told Business Day TV: “I don’t think it [the Node] was as successful as what we would have wanted in terms of its launch and we are looking at some options in that particular area there to explore partnerships and potential divestment of the business. “I believe the price point we started with was a bit high and I don’t think Altron has the appetite to necessarily fund or subsidise to a great degree the Node box which is what I believe is required to get it to gain traction.” The commission investigates market structures while the tribunal has the final say, making rulings on matters referred to it that are legally binding. • This story has been updated and the subheadline changed.

Founded as a French subscription-TV channel over 40 years ago, Canal+ has grown into a global media and entertainment company that operates across the entire audio-visual value chain through three business segments — Europe, Africa and Asia, and content production, distribution.

The group’s business model is designed to provide subscribers with locally valued and globally recognised premium content on its unique platform.

It completed the takeover of MultiChoice, the owner of DStv, GOtv, M-Net and SuperSport, late last year after building its stake over a period of time, and has set about integrating the business into the group.

Canal+ is overhauling MultiChoice with a back-to-basics strategy that prioritises sales growth, protects local content, restructures its workforce and navigates intensifying regulatory scrutiny. At the heart of the reset is a push to revive MultiChoice’s declining sales engine, with plans to deploy more than 1,000 field staff across Africa — a shift away from head office-heavy operations towards on-the-ground distribution and customer acquisition. The move comes as Canal+ shuts down Showmax, a lossmaking streaming venture that has been burning millions annually. Its content will be absorbed into DStv Stream, with Canal+ insisting that investment in local productions will continue. David Mignot, the CEO of Canal+ Africa, which includes the MultiChoice Group, said that up until 2022/23 MultiChoice was a “fantastic” sales engine. “For years, it has been a source of ideas for Canal+ in Africa. You know, we were like a little brother copying with pride. So if you look at numbers, like sales, point of sale, investment in marketing … it was very powerful, and then it has been declining quite fast. This we have to re-accelerate.” Mignot said Canal+ will “massively increase” the number of points of sale, the number of installers, investment in marketing and branding, and people in the field. IN NUMBERS: R1.95bn: The amount Canal+ plans to invest to accelerate MultiChoice turnaround “We need at least 1,000 people all over South Africa and all over Africa [where the group operates],” he said. “From an ecosystem perspective, we’re going to reinforce a lot into the field and less into the headquarters.” The company has introduced voluntary severance packages (VSPs) to “rebalance” its workforce, trimming central roles as it expands field operations. There are fears the VSPs, along with talks of other drastic cost-cutting measures, such as those affecting service providers, could pave the way for deeper cuts and that cost pressures could ripple through the broader ecosystem. Mignot said the workforce process is voluntary and aimed at repositioning the group, and is an “opportunity provided to our colleagues because we have too many resources today at the centre of the organisation and not enough in the field”. The restructuring has triggered anxiety across the industry, from suppliers to production houses. Business Times spoke to a number of service providers, and some said they had not been paid and were uncertain about their future. In every market we are in, we’re the No 1 partner in local content production. It’s our DNA. Mignot, however, strongly denied that the company was cutting local suppliers and content. He said the plan to invest €100m (about R1.95bn) to accelerate the turnaround of MultiChoice would fuel the local content and distribution ecosystem. He said the group’s savings programme had affected 90% of international vendors, allowing the company to make products more affordable. He added that like any corporation facing tough times, Canal+ was negotiating with most providers with the key focus of saving on international vendors and reinvesting in local supply. “We’re making savings on international vendors,” he said. “I want to be super-clear; we have not saved zero out of local suppliers, especially in local content. Our global expense on local supply, both on distribution, marketing and local content, is not decreasing at all. It will be a strategic mistake to do that.” Canal+ announced the closure of Showmax — a platform that had evolved into a major commissioner of South African content over more than a decade — last month. The service, a joint venture with Comcast, was described by Canal+ as “bleeding financially” and unsustainable. While Canal+ insists the move was commercially necessary to stem losses and rebuild growth, industry bodies warn the decision could have deep and lasting consequences for jobs, local content and the broader creative economy. The shutdown represents a “significant blow” to actors and the wider production ecosystem, said Adrian Galley, vice-chair of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA). “Showmax was not merely a streaming platform — it was a major commissioning entity for local content that provided sustained work opportunities for our constituency over its 11-year operation,” he said. Galley said the key impact on actors is reduced work opportunities, as Showmax commissioned numerous local scripts, dramas and productions across South Africa, creating steady employment. He added that there is also the loss of a critical distribution channel. “It is understood Showmax held 17% streaming market share in South Africa and was a strong supporter of local content; its removal diminishes a vital avenue for South African stories.” The shutdown will also destabilise the ecosystem, Galley said. ”The creative sector was already struggling with the frozen film incentive scheme and government red tape. Following Amazon’s decision to move away from commissioning new local projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, Showmax was one of the few bright spots commissioning content that Netflix would not consider.” But Mignot said it “will be a strategically huge mistake” for Canal+ to cut investment in local content and that the company has made a commitment to continue investing in it. “In every market we are in, we’re the No 1 partner in local content production. It’s our DNA. We’re discovering how powerful the ecosystem of production is in South Africa.” Regulators, meanwhile, are watching MultiChoice and Canal+ operations closely, with the Competition Commission saying recently that, given the rapid changes and developments post-merger, it has prioritised this matter for active monitoring. The competition watchdog’s oversight comes amid concerns raised by MPs recently about the merger, including whether its conditions met the highest standard of competition law, and the implications of the merger for local ownership as well as local content. The commission and the telecoms and broadcasting regulator Independent Communications Authority of SA went to parliament last month to explain their approval of the French company’s takeover of MultiChoice. Galley calls on Canal+ and MultiChoice to engage directly with industry representatives including SAGA about their future content investment plans in South Africa. He also wants government and members of parliament “to continue their oversight to ensure support for the local creative sector, job retention, and adherence to transformation objectives in the digital economy.” Moreover, SAGA wants “alternative funding and distribution models to emerge to fill the gap left by Showmax’s commissioning of local content.”

“The combined group now benefits from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies,” Canal+ said in its prelisting statement.

At the end of 2025, Canal+ had more than 42-million subscribers worldwide and operates in over 70 countries and has approximately 15,000 employees. In Europe the group operates a subscription-based, advertising-supported television and over-the-top (OTT) business with over 18-million customers across 12 countries. The Africa and Asia segment has 23-million Pay-TV subscribers across more than 40 countries.

While the group deploys the same Pay-TV strategy of providing a rich mix of content to subscribers across its markets, it is taking a different approach to investment in Africa given the scale of the growth opportunity compared to the relative maturity of its European markets, it said.

Bank of America expects Canal+, the new owner of MultiChoice, to continue slashing costs, pencilling in the sale of noncore assets after meeting the French media group’s senior executives. The American multinational met Canal+ executives, including Amandine Ferré, group CFO; Jérôme Bretillot, deputy CFO; and Richard Tessendorf, corporate CFO at MultiChoice. In a report released after the meeting, Bank of America says one of the key discussion points is on how Canal+ intends to turn around subscriber growth trends at MultiChoice, primarily in South Africa. “Management prioritises deleveraging, downplaying any imminent or near-term [mergers & acquisitions] ambitions. The CEO is well incentivised on value creation, and the former African management team will relocate from France to South Africa,” Bank of America says. “MultiChoice’s sport content offering remains unparalleled, and US competitors appear to have dialled down their African ambitions. We expect next steps will include simplification of MultiChoice’s offerings and extending existing content partnerships (eg Netflix, Apple) to MultiChoice markets. “Optimisation of MultiChoice’s cash tax structure value unlock through monetisation of noncore or ‘less core’ assets. Timing of MultiChoice’s acquisition appears now opportune as load-shedding issues appear fixed and economic growth is expected to pick up in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.” Canal+ pulled off a coup when it launched an audacious bid to buy MultiChoice in one of the largest media deals in South Africa yet. The French major has wasted little time in reviewing MultiChoice’s business, including discontinuing the loss-making video streaming service Showmax and ending its sponsorship of the DStv Delicious Festival. Bank of America also interacted with several retail groups, including Shoprite, Dis-Chem and Clicks. The bank has attached a buy tag to Shoprite, Clicks and Foschini. However, Bank of America attached an underperforming tag to Truworths, stating that while the retail group had much topline growth, there is limited detail on the initiatives. The report says Shoprite is going from “strength to strength”, highlighting its financial services ambitions as a growth potential. It said Shoprite’s moves indicate it is sensing an increased focus here given large market potential. “The recent acquisition of R&A, a FinTech player in the informal market, speaks to this. [Shoprite is] also working on a banking offering, looking to partner with incumbents. We believe savings in interchange could be significant and could offer partners ultralow-cost card replacement in exchange (a big expense for banks).” Shoprite last month announced it had bought R&A, making a foray into the highly contested point-of-sale sector, where the likes of Capitec, Nedbank and Pepkor have big exposure. The R&A transaction particularly gives Shoprite a foothold in the informal market, including spaza shops and other informal merchants in townships and peri-urban areas.

“This includes investing in local content production, technology and skills development to support the African cultural economy, as well as implementing go-to-market strategies that reflect differing consumer preferences and market dynamics.”

In addition, the group’s specialist fibre to the home provider, GVA, provides fibre connectivity to homes in nine African countries, it said.

Canal+ said the benefits of the secondary listing include providing the local investor community with the opportunity to invest in the only global entertainment and broadcasting company listed on the JSE and to participate in the company’s income and capital growth potential.

The Competition Commission appears to be open to settling MultiChoice’s alleged collusion with Altech in a manner that would avoid R4bn having to be forked over. As the biblical saying goes, “The truth will set you free.” In this case, the truth may prevent Africa’s largest pay TV operator from having to fork over billions. Last week, the commission said it referred a complaint against MultiChoice South Africa and Altech to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution. The commission is seeking an order declaring that MultiChoice, now a unit of French broadcaster Canal+, and Altech contravened the Competition Act. The referral, filed on April 15, suggests the parties conspired to divide markets when Altech elected not to compete in the pay TV market, MultiChoice’s bread and butter. That would be a contravention of the law. So far, MultiChoice and Altech have denied any wrongdoing. On the other side, the commission says it is in possession of the agreement that the two companies made back in 2014. In the watchdog’s view, that agreement is against the law. The commission, which investigates market structures in South Africa, has a lot on its plate, from attempts to get Big Tech to compensate traditional media outlets for lost advertising revenue, to tackling price-fixing in the shipping and banking sectors, to inquiries into fresh produce and digital platforms, as well as weighing in on mergers & acquisitions across industry and commerce. Making spurious allegations about a deal made 12 years ago is not something that would likely rank highly on the authority’s list of priorities unless the body knew it had a good case on its hands. History has also shown that the body can indeed make companies pay. Silicon Valley giant Google recently agreed to pay about R688m ($42m) to local media producers after an inquiry found it profited from news content without adequate compensation. In 2019, the SABC was fined R31.8m for price-fixing and fixing trading conditions in the media industry. A few years earlier, in 2017, DStv Media Sales, a unit of MultiChoice, was fined R22.2m — plus an R8m contribution to an economic development fund — for price-fixing. For now, the commission appears to have a solid case. Even then, Makgale Mohlala, head of cartels at the Competition Commission, told Business Day TV that the authority is open to negotiating with the two companies. “We always say that our doors are open for anyone who wants to negotiate settlement of a contravention of this nature,” he said. “We are saying the same to MultiChoice [and Altech]. They can approach us and tell us what it is that they can offer us in order to resolve this matter, and we are prepared to listen to their proposals.” If the commission wins the case, the two companies would be liable for an administrative penalty of up to 10% of their annual turnover. Based on earnings reported in the 2025 financial year, this could be as much as R4.1bn for the DStv operator. If the commission has the agreement, as stated, then the law is on its side. MultiChoice and Altech may have room to talk, wiggle and negotiate, but the competition body has the leverage. The companies have to give up something. The question is whether that something will be billions or if they will get away with paying millions and a list of remedies and commitments instead.

It also enhances the long-term liquidity and tradability in the company’s shares through a robust and internationally recognised exchange and diversifies the company’s shareholder base. In addition, it creates the option of raising future capital in a new market to fund further acquisitions.

Canal+ will not place or issue any new shares in connection with its secondary inward listing and no new capital will be raised on the listing date.

It said sub-Saharan Africa represents a significant growth opportunity, with the continent’s population expected to grow to 2-billion by 2050, and GDP expected to expand by 4.5% between 2026 and 2030.

“Higher purchasing power, ongoing growth of electrified households (currently at only 50%) and increased OTT penetration (set to rise materially from 4% at present) provide a strong underpin to robust long-term growth prospects,” it said.

Business Day