Feb 5, 2024
MultiChoice Says Vivendi Offer Price Undervalues the Business
Bloomberg News
,(Bloomberg) -- MultiChoice Group rejected a proposed takeover offer from Vivendi SE’s Canal+, the South African company’s biggest shareholder, saying the price undervalued the business.
The proposed offer price of 105 rand ($5.55) per share in cash “significantly undervalues the group and its future prospects,” the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Monday. “MultiChoice has recently conducted a valuation exercise, which has valued MultiChoice significantly above 105 rand a share.”
The Canal+ valuation excluded the synergies that a potential deal would offer, that need to be factored in, MultiChoice said. The letter of intention does not provide a basis for further engagement, it said.
The French media group last week indicated a non-bind intention to buy the shares in MultiChoice Group that it doesn’t already own in a deal that valued the business’ shares at 46 billion rand, pushing up the shares by as much as 27%.
Read more: Vivendi Bids For Africa’s MultiChoice at $2.5 Billion Value (2)
Canal+ is already the biggest shareholder with 35.01%, passing the threshold for triggering a mandatory offer. MultiChoice said in a separate statement on Monday has filed a notice with South Africa’s Takeover Regulation Panel and asked it to rule on whether a such a offer must be made to all shareholders.
The MultiChoice board remains open to engage with any party in respect of any offer “which is for a fair price and is subject to appropriate conditions,” it said.
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