Canal+ buys MultiChoice stake

FRENCH media giant Groupe Canal+ has acquired a not-insignificant stake in South Africa’s largest broadcasting company, DStv parent MultiChoice Group.
MultiChoice, which is listed on the JSE, disclosed the Canal+ investment in a statement on the stock exchange news service on Monday morning. Canal+ has bought 6,5 percent of the company’s total ordinary shares in issue, it said.
MultiChoice shares leapt higher in Monday morning trading on the news and were quoted up 8,2 percent at R110,84 apiece at 10:39am.
“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,” it added.
Canal+ is owned and controlled by Vivendi and produces movies and television shows. It has a significant pay-television business and a film library of more than 5 000 titles. It is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris.
It’s not immediately clear why Canal+ is building a stake in MultiChoice. — NewsCentral Media