French entertainment broadcast company Canal+ has a made a R46bn buyout offer for South Africa’s MultiChoice, Africa’s largest provider of subscription TV services, which include DStv.

If successful, the deal will handover Multichoice Africa pay-tv monopoly to foreign ownership and control. 

Canal+ is already a major shareholder in MultiChoice with its 30% stake. The new proposal will see the French company scooping up the remaining shares.

Canal+ currently has more than seven million subscribers across 25 African countries and is the leading TV operator in French-speaking Africa.

MultiChoice has been struggling in recent years, with its main product, DStv, losing thousands of subscribers, amid increased competition from streaming services.

Canal+ has said that its acquisition of the South African company promises to turn around its fortunes by creating “a group with significant scale, putting MultiChoice on a secure long-term path and enabling the company to thrive”.

However, it added that the progression of the purchase is still uncertain “at this stage”.