French media giant Canal+ is moving ahead with its plan to delist MultiChoice from Johannesburg’s stock exchange and secure a secondary listing in South Africa, a move aimed at deepening its footprint in Africa’s fast-growing pay-TV and streaming market.
According to Bloomberg, Canal+ confirmed that the delisting of MultiChoice Group Ltd. from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will mark the next step toward integrating the South African company into its expanding international operations.
Following the delisting, Canal+ intends to launch a secondary inward listing by introduction, offering South African investors direct access to its broader media and streaming portfolio.
This marks a significant milestone in the French group’s long-term plan to strengthen its African presence through one of the continent’s largest media assets.
MultiChoice delisting to pave the way for Canal+’s secondary listing
Canal+’s strategy involves taking full control of MultiChoice before the secondary listing, which would allow it to consolidate its African operations and offer investors exposure to a more diversified entertainment business.
MultiChoice, which began in South Africa in 1985, has been instrumental in shaping the continent’s television landscape. By the early 1990s, it had expanded across Africa with a strong lineup that included English Premier League football and locally produced shows.
The pay-TV group was spun off from Naspers Ltd. in 2019, emerging as a standalone company that now operates across multiple African markets.
Canal+’s takeover, which values MultiChoice at around $3 billion, will give the French broadcaster direct access to South Africa’s media hub and its fast-evolving streaming ecosystem.
Canal+ to integrate African operations and expand investor access
Once the delisting is completed, Canal+ will move to secure a secondary inward listing on the JSE by introduction, a process that will not involve raising new capital but will allow South African investors to trade Canal+ shares locally.
The decision reflects Canal+’s broader ambition to attract African investors and establish a stronger link between its European and African operations.
The company’s expansion into Africa has been driven by a strategy to capture new audiences in a region where streaming demand is accelerating alongside rising internet connectivity.
The merged entity is expected to combine MultiChoice’s established African reach with Canal+’s global content network, building a subscriber base approaching 40 million users.
This scale will enable the group to invest further in local productions, sports broadcasting rights, and digital streaming technologies.
London listing supports Canal+’s global expansion plans
Canal+’s latest move follows its parent company Vivendi SE’s decision in December last year to list Canal+ in London, a move designed to assist in its long-term international expansion.
The London listing was aimed at positioning the company for broader capital access and global partnerships. The new South African inward listing complements this strategy by creating a two-way investment channel between Europe and Africa.
The integration of MultiChoice’s operations under the Canal+ umbrella is also expected to enhance the group’s competitiveness against global streaming rivals by leveraging regional content diversity and consumer insights.
With MultiChoice’s established production capabilities in South Africa — the continent’s largest economy and a hub for film-making — Canal+ will gain a stronger foothold in both traditional broadcasting and on-demand streaming.
A cross-continental media powerhouse emerges
The combined operation of Canal+ and MultiChoice will form one of the largest pay-TV and streaming groups in the Southern Hemisphere, with nearly 40 million subscribers across continents.
The move comes at a time when global streaming platforms are investing heavily in African markets to capture young, mobile-first audiences. Canal+’s strategy aims to strengthen its regional dominance and create a sustainable model for locally relevant, multilingual content.
As consolidation accelerates in the media sector, the Canal+-MultiChoice merger underscores the growing importance of Africa in global entertainment — not only as a consumer base but as a production powerhouse.
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