Canal+ has completed its acquisition of MultiChoice Group, bringing the owner of DStv and GOtv fully under the control of the French media company and closing a transaction that began in 2023 and reshaped Africa’s pay television landscape.
MultiChoice is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Canal+, which operates across 70 countries spanning Europe, Africa, and Asia. The completion was confirmed on Thursday by David Mignot, Chief Executive Officer of Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice, who described the integration as positioning MultiChoice as part of a truly international media group.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries. The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mignot said.
The deal, valued at approximately $3.17 billion or R55 billion, is one of the largest cross-border media transactions in African history. It marks the first time MultiChoice, founded in South Africa and long the dominant pay television operator on the continent, has come under foreign ownership.
Canal+ first signalled its intention to acquire MultiChoice in February 2024 with an initial offer of R31.7 billion, which MultiChoice’s board rejected as an undervaluation. The French company gradually increased its shareholding above 35%, triggering South Africa’s mandatory takeover rules, and continued raising its bid before both companies began formal negotiations.
Canal+ and MultiChoice navigated a complex regulatory process involving South Africa’s Competition Commission, Competition Tribunal, and broadcasting regulators, all of whom had to approve a transaction involving foreign control of local broadcasting licences. To satisfy those requirements, the companies created a separate South African entity called LicenceCo to manage local broadcasting operations and licences under domestic ownership structures.
Similar read: Major milestones of Canal+’s $3.17bn Multichoice acquisition deal
Regulatory approval was secured in early 2025, and Canal+ formally completed the takeover in September 2025 before announcing David Mignot as CEO for African operations. The completion announced on Thursday represents the full legal and operational consolidation of MultiChoice within the Canal+ group.
MultiChoice operates in more than 50 African markets through DStv and GOtv, serving millions of subscribers with sports, movies, entertainment, and news content across the continent.
What Canal+ ownership means for Multichoice going forward
Canal+ has said it intends to build on MultiChoice’s existing African operations rather than dismantle them, maintaining the company’s focus on local audiences and locally produced content. The French group’s film arm, StudioCanal, has already indicated plans to distribute MultiChoice’s African content to international markets, which could give locally produced African programming broader global visibility.
Becoming part of Canal+ gives MultiChoice access to greater financial resources, international expertise, and a wider content distribution network, advantages that will help the company compete with global streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, all of which have made significant investments in African markets in recent years.
Canal+ also plans a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, targeting September 2026, to allow South African investors to maintain exposure to the combined business after MultiChoice was delisted from the JSE following the acquisition. Its primary listing remains in London.
The acquisition reshapes the African media industry at a moment when streaming competition is intensifying, advertising revenues are under pressure, and audiences are increasingly dividing their attention across platforms.
For Canal+, controlling MultiChoice’s continental distribution infrastructure, built over decades across more than 50 markets, gives it a foundation in Africa that no global streaming rival currently possesses.
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