Maxime Saada, head and CEO of the French media conglomerate Canal+, laid out MultiChoice‘s strategic direction after the acquisition in a detailed report. Saada has laid out a clear plan for the future of MultiChoice’s well-known names, such as DStv and Showmax.
He talked about how valuable these brands are, pointing out their strong market position and saying there are no plans to change their names under the Canal+ umbrella.
As long as there aren’t strong reasons to change, Saada thinks these brands’ natural strength and recognition are valuable assets that should be kept.
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Saada needs to understand that while global competitors like Netflix and Apple use a single brand, which may give them some benefits, the well-known brands of DStv and Showmax should not be ignored.
“Only companies with one brand, like Netflix, Apple, etc., are our opponents,” he said. Furthermore, it makes them stronger. I mean, what would you do today if you asked me? I really wouldn’t change the names, though. “Those are some strong brands.”
MultiChoice Board Stands Behind Canal+ Bid
According to the report, the board of MultiChoice said they backed Canal+’s plan to take over the company. This support was made official during a meeting with reporters in Cape Town.
Canal+ recently offered to buy the rest of MultiChoice’s shares for R125. This was announced in a joint statement to the shareholders of both companies. Under the watch of the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP), this statement is a big step forward in the takeover process.
Furthermore, to talk about brand strategy, Saada also highlighted the unique ways Canal+ and MultiChoice run their businesses. It was pointed out that Canal+ makes most of its money by strategically focusing on distributing material.
Instead, MultiChoice has expanded its business into different areas, including home security, banking, insurance, and betting. This variety is part of MultiChoice’s broader business strategy, which differs from Canal+’s more focused method.
Canal+, which has a similar content inventory across all its platforms, contrasts with MultiChoice’s strategy of offering brand-specific streaming services like Showmax. Despite these practical differences, Saada believes MultiChoice’s model may work, though he is sceptical.
MultiChoice: Canal+ Grows Ownership Stake
As an intelligent move to strengthen its position in MultiChoice, Canal+ has bought more shares on the open market to raise its ownership stake from 35% to 40.8%. For Canal+ to fully buy the rest of MultiChoice’s shares, it would have to spend more than R30 billion.
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This purchase is necessary because if Canal+’s company share goes over 50%, the Competition Commission will look into it. After all, that much control could have significant effects on market competition.
MultiChoice has responded to shareholders’ worries that Canal+ might own more than 50% of the company. The business made it clear that it doesn’t think this will happen.
MultiChoice says that going over the 50% control limit would be a merger under the Competition Act, which would need first permission from the Competition Tribunal. Because of this, MultiChoice has clarified that it thinks Canal+’s shareholding will stay below this critical level, so there won’t be an official merger review process.