French media giant Canal+ has finalised its $3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice Group (MCG), cementing control of Africa’s largest pay-TV operator and reshaping the company’s leadership structure.
In a notice to shareholders on Monday, MultiChoice confirmed that Canal+ directly owns 200,030,591 shares, representing 46% of the group (excluding treasury shares), as of September 19, 2025. The deal creates one of the world’s biggest media and entertainment companies, serving over 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia, and employing about 17,000 people.
To reflect its new ownership, MultiChoice has reconstituted its board. Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada now chairs the board, with Elias Masilela appointed lead independent director. David Mignot takes over as CEO, Nicolas Dandoy as CFO, and Jacques du Puy joins as an executive director. Several previous board members, including former CEO Calvo Mawela and CFO Timothy Jacobs, have stepped down but will remain involved in the wider African operations of Canal+.
The group has also aligned its financial year-end with Canal+’s December 31 cycle. MultiChoice will publish interim results for the six months ending September 30, 2025, and audited results for the nine months ending December 31, 2025, before moving fully to the new reporting schedule.
Canal+ CEO Saada hailed the acquisition as a landmark step in building a “global media and entertainment powerhouse,” saying the merger would allow deeper investments in creative and sporting content across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The deal, approved by South Africa’s Competition Tribunal in July, marks one of Africa’s biggest-ever media mergers and strengthens Canal+’s dominance in the region’s pay-TV market.
