Canal+ S.A., a sprawling media and entertainment company controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, has launched a major expansion in the African market. In late September, Canal+ finalized the acquisition of South African company MultiChoice, the leading paid TV provider in English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa. Valued at €2.5 billion, it’s touted as the largest buyout in the history of Canal+.
The MultiChoice takeover puts Bolloré in a commanding position in a market destined for considerable growth in the coming years. With upward of eight million Canal+ subscribers in Francophone Africa, the company will add some twenty million paying MultiChoice users, most notably in South Africa and Nigeria. To that, it can add a web of partner news and entertainment channels and a near-monopoly on sports competition broadcasting: Canal+ anticipates reaching more than one hundred million subscribers in coming years, cementing its lead over Chinese-owned competitor StarTimes, which counts roughly thirteen million subscribers.
For Canal+ executives, the deal is key to building a global media company able to compete against American corporations like Netflix or Disney. “Our combined company is unique, a true global media and entertainment powerhouse,” said Canal+ CEO and longtime Bolloré confidante Maxime Saada in a September 22 press release.
The MultiChoice acquisition comes amid a rapid expansion back in France, as Bolloré — whose business interests were first centered on specialty paper manufacturing and ports — doubles down on his mid-2010s shift to media and entertainment. This fall, Canal+ acquired a 34 percent stake in major movie-theater chain UGC and is reportedly vying for a full takeover by 2028. The move tightens the group’s hold over the French film industry, with many critics worrying that Bolloré will use that power to bolster his ideological agenda.
In France, Bolloré’s vast media empire is relatively new. But in the span of…
Auteur: Harrison Stetler
