KAMPALA, UGANDA — MultiChoice Uganda and its sister company, GOTV Uganda, are in the final stages of a change in control that will see French media giant Groupe Canal+ take over full ownership. The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is currently reviewing the application to transfer the licenses.
The UCC issued a public notice inviting written comments on the application, a mandatory step under Ugandan law to ensure the public interest is considered before a license transfer is approved. The notice stated that MultiChoice Uganda and GOTV Uganda have applied for a “change in control” from MultiChoice Group Limited to Groupe Canal+.
Groupe Canal+ has already secured the necessary regulatory approvals in other markets, including a major one from the Competition Tribunal in South Africa.
The company has steadily increased its stake in MultiChoice Group over the past few years and has made a mandatory offer to acquire the remaining shares it does not already own.
This acquisition, valued at approximately $3 billion, is expected to give Groupe Canal+ a significant foothold in Africa’s pay-television market.
MultiChoice operates in over 50 countries on the continent and has a subscriber base of more than 14.5 million. The deal could reshape the African media landscape by combining Groupe Canal+’s French-language content with MultiChoice’s vast English and Portuguese programming.
The transaction is part of a strategic move by Groupe Canal+ to expand its presence and compete with global streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The completion of the deal is expected by October 2025.
