Canal+ is currently awaiting feedback from the Competition Commission regarding its proposed transaction to acquire full ownership of MultiChoice. This deal was scheduled to conclude in April 2025 but was pushed to October 2025 as it undergoes scrutiny by local legislation.
There is a reason why regulators are concerned about the deal cause although Canal+ had proposed launching a separate company LicenceCo. Several competitors including eMedia Investments had suggested a potential loophole in Canal+'s shareholding of MultiChoice despite the 20% cap.
Although LicenceCo would be majority owned by local parties that doesn't mean Canal+ would be helpless they could handle the content viewed on DStv and various other agreements. The other parties could as well give Canal+ creative control and try to be minimal on the basis of costs.
One of the reasons analysts feel that this transaction could be prolonged before reaching the finish line. With Canal+ being a foreigner, they could prioritize their own endeavours seen in France and Europe and leave very little to be desired in Africa one of the reasons regulators might come at them swiftly.
If the deal is approved, regulators could impose several conditions on Canal+ as seen with Walmart-Massmart deal in 2011.
They may ask LicenceCo to submit reports to local regulators to ensure that Canal+ or it's holding company MultiChoice is compliant with the 20% cap. With Canal+ walking away with a 100% stake in MultiChoice, they want to ensure that they'll some local input and not only foreign investment.
Getting onto investment, the purposed DStv spin-off means that MultiChoice wouldn't be a broadcaster but a content distributor. MultiChoice would make it's revenue through carriage agreements and regulators might require that a percentage of revenue goes toward funding the local landscape.
Especially with the proposed launch of LicenceCo, they ask that MultiChoice increase its local output for DStv and Showmax from the current 47%.
With it being deemed as a large merger, regulators could require Canal+ almost double it's investment toward the local landscape as seen with the Walmart-Massmart deal - one of the tricks to scare away some foreign investors.
Canal+ is looking to streamline MultiChoice once the deal moves ahead and regulators might put a lock on these endeavours for a stipulated period (3 to 5 years). They won't be able to reduce staff and likely sell non-core assets like NMIS Insurance Services and Namola.
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