The Canal+ offer to acquire Multichoice shares expired on Friday (10 October), with the offer being accepted by shareholders of 92,54% of the outstanding shares.
Together with the MultiChoice shares that were already held by Canal+ prior to, these acceptances will result in Canal+ holding approximately 94,39% of MultiChoice’s total issued ordinary shares. This triggers a provision whereby Canal+ will now compulsorily acquire all of the shares in MultiChoice, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canal+.
Application will be made for the termination of the listing of MultiChoice Shares on the JSE, subject to the approval of the South African Reserve Bank.
Canal+ is listed in London but, as part of the commitments it made regarding the acquisition of MultiChoice, will undertakes to pursue secondary inward listing on the JSE by way of introduction. This is expected preserve South African investor access and market liquidity, allowing local investors to hold shares in a leading global media and entertainment company on the JSE.
The MultiChoice acquisition is the largest ever undertaken by Canal+. The combined group will serve more than 40-million subscribers across close to 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, supported by a workforce of about 17 000 employees.