Canal+ has begun trading on the JSE under the ticker “CNP”, capping a six-year plan to take over Africa’s largest pay TV provider, MultiChoice. Last month, the JSE granted approval to Canal+ for a secondary listing using the fast-track listing process of all its 991.9-million shares, with a nominal value of €0.25 each (R4.12), on the bourse’s Main Board.The shares will trade in rand on the JSE, where they will be listed in the media sector and the radio and TV broadcasters sub-sector.Canal+ is listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it will retain its primary listing. The French broadcast group began its assault on the Randburg-based company in October 2020 with an initial purchase of a 6.5% stake. Over four years, Canal+ built up its equity until it reached 35% in February 2024, making an initial bid to buy MultiChoice at R105 a share, then upping that offer to R125.Having taken control of the DStv operator in September 2025, Canal+’s secondary listing on the JSE achieves two main objectives. First it allows local investors to continue having exposure to MultiChoice as part of the bigger Canal+ entity. Second, it fulfils one of the key commitments that the French group had made to local authorities as part of the takeover terms. During an event at the JSE on Wednesday, Canal+ boss Maxime Saada said the listing is an opportunity for African investors to share in the growth of the entertainment business. Canal+ become the first major French group to list on JSE, good news for a local exchange that had suffered from a spate of delistings in recent years. When the deal was first mooted, it faced regulatory hurdles and resistance from internal stakeholders because the country’s regulations — under the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and MultiChoice’s own memorandum of understanding — limit foreign voting rights to 20%. To address this, the post-transaction structure created showed MultiChoice Group was restructured so the holder of the broadcasting licence in South Africa and the entity that contracts with South African subscribers, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd — or LicenceCo — would be carved out and become an independent entity.As part of the reorganisation, the group has also made a local content commitment to spend R20.6bn over three years in terms of the deal terms. Since the takeover of MultiChoice, Canal+ has made a number of sweeping changes in an effort to rein in costs, while pushing to win back lost subscribers. At about 14-million customers, MultiChoice has lost a third of its base in recent years. The biggest change made so far is shutting down the video streaming service Showmax, having ploughed more than R5bn into the project that had yet to turn a profit. With Jacqueline Mackenzie