Canal + takes a stake in the MultiChoice group

MultiChoice, which is listed on the JSE, disclosed Canal+’s investment in a press release on the stock market information service Monday morning. Canal + bought 6.5% of the company’s total common shares outstanding, he said. Shares of MultiChoice surged higher on the news Monday morning and were listed up 8.2% to 10.84 R1 each at 10:39 a.m.

This is an interesting turn of events because in 2018 Vivendi (Canal+ parent company) was turned down after making a bid to buy Multichoice. At the time Multichoice’s parent company Naspers had turned down several bids for Multichoice. 

A statement by the company says:

As a publicly held company, MultiChoice regularly engages with its strategic partners and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community. The group’s policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders nor on its interactions with them.

However, in the report by Tech Central, Canal+ grew its stake to 6.5% after becoming a Multichoice shareholder in April this year. A possible reason why this wasn’t common knowledge is that Canal+ hadn’t yet exceeded the 5% threshold. Since they now have a 6.5% stake, Multichoice had to inform it’s shareholders through the JSE as well as the Takeover Regulation Panel.