By Loni Prinsloo.
Canal+ SA rose in its debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the secondary listing of the French media giant marking the completion of its multi-billion dollar acquisition of African pay-TV giant MultiChoice.
The stock climbed to R58.50 by 9:49 a.m., higher than the reference price based on the firm’s London-listed shares. Canal+ is valued at £2.5 billion and is the first French company to trade on the main board of South Africa’s bourse.
With a rand-based market value of R57.7 billion, Canal+ will enter the FTSE/JSE Top40 Index of Johannesburg’s biggest companies and is about the same size as financial-services firm Old Mutual, removing retailer Mr Price Group from the gauge.
“Africa will be our growth engine for years to come,” chief executive officer Canal + Maxime Saada said in a statement.
The firm was the largest of three companies spun out of the parent business, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré’s Vivendi SE, and involved a subsequent primary listing on the London Stock Exchange in December 2024.
Canal+ took effective control of MultiChoice in September last year, with the African pay-TV company ceasing its Johannesburg listing in December.
The secondary listing provides South African investors exposure to the expanded global media entity. For the French firm, the move enables access to additional investors and liquidity in Africa’s deepest capital market.
The combined media entity will take on large US entertainment giants such as Netflix and Walt Disney on the continent. By pooling content budgets, Canal+ plans to leverage MultiChoice’s sports rights, including SuperSport’s English Premier League coverage, and local production capabilities to expand its offering in the region and reverse recent subscriber declines.
The listing is the second in Johannesburg this year, with Toronto-based Aimia Inc. joining the JSE’s main board in February.
Last year, the JSE had its best year for funds raised from IPOs since 2017, with mobile-network operator Cell C Holdings and AI-powered fintech firm Optasia Group joining the bourse in November.
© 2026 Bloomberg.