South Africa's MultiChoice Group (MCGJ.J) on Monday said it will not continue talks with Vivendi's (VIV.PA), Canal Plus after the board concluded that its offer significantly undervalues the company.

Canal Plus, a top shareholder in MultiChoice, had on Thursday offered 105 rand ($5.55) per share for every MultiChoice share it does not already own.

Canal Plus said the offer - worth 31.7 billion rand according to Reuters calculations - was a 40% premium to MultiChoice's closing share price of 75 rand on Jan. 31.

MultiChoice said in a statement that a recently-conducted exercise valued the group at significantly above the offer price, excluding any potential synergies which may arise from the proposed deal.

Africa's biggest pay TV company added that the synergies that Canal Plus has conveyed "need to be factored into any fair offer made" by the French company.

"Therefore, while the board is open to all means of maximising shareholder value, it has conveyed to Canal+ that at this proposed price, the letter does not provide a basis for further engagement," MultiChoice said.

The board, however, remains open to engage with any party in respect of any offer which is for a fair price, it added.

Canal Plus had said its offer was non-binding and indicative but had expected to deliver a letter of firm intention to MultiChoice's board once due diligence had been completed.

Canal Plus, which as of Thursday held a 31.67% stake in MultiChoice, raised it stake to 35.01% following the deal's announcement, MultiChoice said in a separate statement.

As a result, MultiChoice has requested the Takeover Regulation Panel to make a ruling as to whether a mandatory offer must be made to all holders of ordinary shares in the company according to the Companies Act.

($1 = 18.9169 rand)

HeatSeeker:
They should better sell!

Streaming has eaten deeply into their market share, and they can no longer boast of dominance decisively. Sell it off so that running the business profitably is now the headache of the French.

nairalandkachy1:


https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/s-africas-multichoice-ends-deal-talks-with-vivendis-canal-plus-2024-02-05/

santaclaws:


Streaming? Well, DSTV doesn't need your internet connection to function and streaming services are majorly for movies and series, DSTV offers much more than that. There's a wide market for both media services to co-exist, so I wouldn't say that. Netflix cannot show live football matches, so what are you talking about?

Bottom line is that $1.6B is a grossly undervalued sum for Multichoice as an African multinational media company, the largest of its kind.

nairalandkachy1:


https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/s-africas-multichoice-ends-deal-talks-with-vivendis-canal-plus-2024-02-05/

santaclaws:


Streaming? Well, DSTV doesn't need your internet connection to function and streaming services are majorly for movies and series, DSTV offers much more than that. There's a wide market for both media services to co-exist, so I wouldn't say that. Netflix cannot show live football matches, so what are you talking about?

Bottom line is that $1.6B is a grossly undervalued sum for Multichoice as an African multinational media company, the largest of its kind.

verybadmouth:
Who cares, last time I subscribed DSTV was 2022 Aug. MTN can't be taking my money and DSTV also, I ain't a robot

HeatSeeker:


You are very wrong on this one. Football matches and all other forms of entertainment and media services can be streamed without any hassles. Streaming is not only about netflix

santaclaws:


Streaming? Well, DSTV doesn't need your internet connection to function and streaming services are majorly for movies and series, DSTV offers much more than that. There's a wide market for both media services to co-exist, so I wouldn't say that. Netflix cannot show live football matches, so what are you talking about?

Bottom line is that $1.6B is a grossly undervalued sum for Multichoice as an African multinational media company, the largest of its kind.

kayswag100:


I feel you! Only issue is that when I stream football, I'm always about 1 minute + away from live action. For those that dont mind, mtn is an alternative

For me, when on live football, I do a live text commentary in a group im in. Sadly, DSTV wins it for me. Movies are all crap sha (anaconda, transformers, batman, and all thise old movies on repeat!)