CANAL+ lists on JSE
Global media group CANAL+, and the owner of Africa’s leading entertainment group, Multichoice, has listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), marking a milestone for the South African market and strengthening the company’s dual listing strategy across Europe and Africa.
The secondary listing sees CANAL+ become the first French company to join the JSE, and the only global media and entertainment group currently listed on the exchange. It follows the company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2024.
The JSE said the move reinforces South Africa’s role as a gateway between global capital markets and African growth opportunities, while broadening the exchange’s sectoral diversity.
CANAL+ said the listing would give investors access to a rand-denominated investment in a globally diversified media business with a significant African footprint.
The group operates in more than 70 countries and has around 42 million subscribers worldwide. In Europe, it serves more than 18 million subscribers across 12 countries, while in Africa it has about 23 million subscribers in more than 40 countries, built over three decades of operations on the continent.
The company said Africa would remain a key growth market, citing rising connectivity, a young and expanding population, and increasing demand for digital content. It estimates the continent’s population will grow significantly by 2050, alongside sustained GDP growth in the coming years.
CANAL+ chief executive Maxime Saada said the Johannesburg listing reflected the group’s long-term strategy of deepening its presence in high-growth markets. “Joining the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is a statement of our ambition and our belief in Africa’s future and its creative industry,” he said.
He said the dual listing, alongside London, reinforced the company’s position as a bridge between Europe and Africa. “For CANAL+, Africa will be our growth engine for years to come,” Saada said.
The JSE is Africa’s largest stock exchange by market capitalisation and currently hosts 263 listed companies, with a combined value of more than R24.96 trillion.
