Canal+ to buy M7 Group

Vivendi-owned Canal+ Group in France is set to buy Central and Eastern Europe-focused pay TV operator M7 Group for US$1.2bn.

Maxime Saada

The purchase, which is subject to regulatory approval, will grow Canal+’s footprint by seven more European countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium.

M7 is owned by European private equity firm Astorg and is also present in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Romania, with a total of three million subscribers.

Operating under different brands, M7 distributes major national channels as well as leading international labels, including Disney Channel, HBO, Eurosport, National Geographic and Nickelodeon.

Canal+, which is already available in countries such as France, Switzerland and Poland, said the acquisition would provide an additional distribution platform for content produced by the group.

Maxime Saada, chairman of the Canal+ Group executive board, said: “We are particularly pleased with this acquisition project made possible by Vivendi. The operation will allow Canal+ Group to approach 20 million subscribers worldwide.”

“Our global subscriber base will have almost doubled in five years, with a clear acceleration starting in 2015. This major operation will allow us to strengthen our distribution capacity in order to leverage content originating from our library and our numerous production operations in Europe.”

Jacques du Puy, CEO of Canal+ International, added: “It will enable us to combine the talents of the managerial teams of Canal+ and M7, both of high quality and very committed to accelerating our international growth. Our activities will span a total of 40 countries around three gravity centres in Europe, Africa and Asia.”