French media giant Groupe Canal+ has finalized its acquisition of MultiChoice Group, leading to immediate leadership changes at the South African broadcaster. On Monday, MultiChoice announced that Calvo Mawela is no longer CEO and has been replaced by David Mignot, the former CEO of Canal+ Africa.
Read: Taiwan restricts chip exports to South Africa amid diplomatic row
The acquisition became unconditional on Monday after Canal+’s R125 per share offer for the JSE-listed company went through. This marks the largest transaction in Canal+’s history and creates a global broadcasting powerhouse with over 40 million subscribers across 70 countries. The deal concludes a complex process to comply with South Africa’s strict foreign-ownership limits for media companies.
With the change in ownership, the MultiChoice board has been reconstituted to reflect Canal+’s new influence. Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+, will now chair the MultiChoice Group board. Mawela will assume the role of chairman of the parent company, Canal+ Africa. Elias Masilela, the previous chairman, will serve as the lead independent director, while Nicolas Dandoy has been appointed as the new chief financial officer.
Canal+ has committed to several public interest undertakings in South Africa, including supporting local content production, promoting black-controlled and small firms in the audiovisual sector, and continuing to fund local sports and entertainment programming.
Integration between the two companies will begin immediately. A full strategic update is expected in the first quarter of 2026. For now, MultiChoice customers will see no changes to their billing or subscriptions. A shareholder meeting will be held in the coming weeks to vote on the election of new directors to the board.
