(Agence Ecofin) – In the midst of talks for a merger, Canal + continues to increase the capital of MultiChoice. The French group again bought back shares of the South African group after having already increased its share of the capital to 40.01% on April 12.
Canal+ now has 40.8% of the capital of MultiChoice. The French group had already gone from 36.6% of the capital held in March, then to 40.01% on April 12.
Obviously, Canal + is trying to lower the cost of the operation. Indeed, the offer made for the purchase of MultiChoice and accepted by the South African group values it at $2.9 billion.
Canal + should only pay the percentage of the sum corresponding to the proportion of capital that the French does not hold. From now on, Canal + must pay 59.2% of the total price. The trick is for Canal + to obtain shares at a lower price than the $6.71 that each share acquired under the offer made to MultiChoice would cost it.
Under these conditions, we can expect this nibbling strategy to continue.
Servan Ahougnon
