Multiple choice group revealed on Thursday that French pay TV giant Groupe Canal + has continued to buy its shares, so much so that its stake has doubled to 12% in the last month.

MultiChoice revealed on October 5 that Canal +, owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi, had acquired 6.5% of its share capital. That has now risen to 12% of the company’s total common shares in issue on the JSE.

“As a publicly traded company, MultiChoice engages regularly with its strategic partners and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community. The group’s policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders or their interactions with them, ”MultiChoice said in Thursday’s statement. “The company remains committed to acting in the best interest of all shareholders and creating long-term sustainable shareholder value.”

Shares in MultiChoice have risen to a record above R140 this week due to the Canal + buying spree, as well as speculation from investors that some sort of offer by the hostile pan-African pay-TV group or no, it could be up for grabs soon.

Canal + is owned and controlled by Vivendi and produces movies and television shows. It has an important pay-TV business and a film library of more than 5,000 titles. It is based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, on the outskirts of Paris.

In response to a TechCentral inquiry when MultiChoice first disclosed Canal + ‘s stake earlier this month, the company said that Canal + first became a shareholder in April. You were only asked to disclose the investment after it broke the 5% level. – © 2020 NewsCentral Media