French media giant Canal+ has acquired 100% ownership of MultiChoice Group, the parent company of DStv and GOtv, in a $3 billion (approx. R55 billion) deal.
The acquisition, which includes the remaining 55% stake Canal+ did not previously own, was approved on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, by South Africa’s Competition Tribunal. The deal is expected to be finalized by October 8, 2025.
Canal+, which already operates in 25 African countries with over 8 million subscribers, will now significantly expand its reach. With MultiChoice’s 14.5 million subscribers across 50 sub-Saharan countries, including platforms like SuperSport, Showmax, and M-Net, the French broadcaster is poised to become a dominant force in the African media and entertainment market.
“The combined group will benefit from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets, and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies,” said Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+, calling the acquisition “transformative.”
The merger also enables a powerful multilingual content offering, blending Canal+’s French-language assets with MultiChoice’s English and Portuguese media catalogs, an advantage in serving Africa’s linguistically diverse audiences.
Public Interest Conditions: A Win for South African Content
The Competition Tribunal’s conditional approval includes a series of public interest commitments aimed at safeguarding South Africa’s media sovereignty. These include:
Retaining MultiChoice’s headquarters in South Africa
Investing over R26 billion in the local media ecosystem over the next three years
Maintaining support for local content creators, general entertainment, and sports broadcasting
Ensuring the continued funding of South African-produced content
“We will maintain funding for South African general entertainment and sports content, providing local content creators with a strong foundation for future success,” both companies said in a joint statement.
With full ownership, Canal+ is expected to inject new capital and technology resources into MultiChoice, enabling greater investment in local content production, digital platforms like Showmax, and next-generation broadcast infrastructure.
Originally launched in 2023, Canal+’s takeover bid began with a mandatory buyout offer of R125 per share, valuing MultiChoice at approximately $3 billion. The acquisition now unlocks strategic advantages in content sharing, distribution, and subscription bundling across Africa.
As Canal+ gains full ownership of MultiChoice, it’s worth noting that MultiChoice’s streaming service, Showmax, is also a key part of this acquisition. For details on Showmax subscription packages, payments, and pricing for 2025, you can find more information here.
