SOUTH Africa’s competition authority has approved a French media company, Canal+, for the buyout of one of Africa’s largest pay TV, MultiChoice, owner of DStv and GOtv.

The Canal+ announced this in a statement on Wednesday, May 21, affirming its plans to expand its footprint on the continent.

The merger, which has been in the works for nearly a year, needs the final go-ahead from the commission’s Competition Tribunal, the company stated.

Canal+ holds around 45 per cent of MultiChoice’s shares and offered last year to acquire the remainder for 125 rand per share.

The company is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group.

MultiChoice operates in most countries across sub-Saharan Africa with millions of subscribers.

It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

“This is a major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart,” Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said in the statement.

It noted that the approval of the merger was subject to public interest conditions worth about 26 billion rand over three years, including increasing the shareholding of people disadvantaged under South Africa’s white-minority apartheid regime.

It will also maintain the MultiChoice headquarters in South Africa.

A date for the Tribunal’s decision on the merger has not been announced, but Canal+ stated that it was aiming for the deal to be completed by early October.