Canal+ deal: MultiChoice extends Patel’s chairmanship

The Board of Directors of MultiChoice has reached an agreement with Imtiaz Patel to remain as chairman until the completion of the Canal+ deal.Earlier, Multichoice had announced that Patel would step down as its chairman with effect from April 1, 2024.However, in a shareholder update issued on Tuesday, MultiChoice said that in view of the recent ruling by the Takeover Regulation Panel that required Groupe Canal+ SA to make an immediate mandatory offer to all MultiChoice shareholders, the MultiChoice board believes there is significant benefit in continuity at this time and that Mr Patel has agreed to extend his tenure until the conclusion of the Canal+ transaction.The company also said that a long-standing non-executive director, Elias Masilela and designated chairman will serve as deputy chairman of the MultiChoice board. He will also become the Lead Independent Director in place of Jim Volkwyn, who will step down as LID but remain as a NED.“The board expresses its gratitude to Mr Patel for extending his tenure and to Mr Masilela for taking on the new roles on the board. It also wishes to thank Mr Volkwyn for his service as LID and as the chair of the remuneration committee − his dedication, leadership and tireless efforts have been invaluable to the company,” the firm said.In February, the French media giant, Canal+ revealed that it had submitted a letter to MultiChoice’s board of directors containing a non-binding indicative offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of MultiChoice that it does not already own, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.Canal+ owns more than 35 per cent of the shares in MultiChoice.The offer was for 105 rand per share in MultiChoice, which represented a 40 per cent premium on MultiChoice’s closing share price of R75 in January 2024. However, MultiChoice rejected the offer.Last month, the French pay-TV giant owned by Vivendi SE, increased its offer to buy MultiChoice to $2.9bn following the regulatory panel which mandated the French broadcaster to make an offer to MultiChoice’s ordinary shareholders.According to Bloomberg, the new bid translates to an offer of 125 rand per share, a 20 per cent increase from the initial offer of 105 rand.