• Canal+ acquired M7 Group from the media firm’s present private equity investor, Astorg Partners.
• The acquisition would be giving Canal+ access to its increasing customer base across European markets.

Canal Plus Group SA (Canal+), a renowned French film & television studio & distributor, has reportedly announced that it has acquired Luxembourg-based media firm, M7 Group S.A. (M7 Group) in a €1 billion acquisition agreement.

Reports cite, Canal+ acquired M7 Group from the media firm’s present private equity investor, Astorg Partners. The acquisition would be giving Canal+ access to M7 Group’s growing customer base across European markets.

According to a report by Financial Times, access to a vast & rapidly growing customer base would allow Canal+ to extend its presence beyond its current markets of Switzerland, Poland & France into seven new nations across Europe.

The CEO of Canal+, Maxime Saada stated that the group is thrilled with the acquisition, which was finalized with the complete support of the company’s parent organization, Vivendi. The transaction would allow Canal+ to reach approximately 20 million subscribers across the world, almost doubling its global subscriber base in five years. Saada further added that the deal would allow Canal+ to further consolidate its distribution capabilities and also expands the reach of its content from the catalogue while reinforcing several of its production activities across Europe.

The Chairman of M7 board, Marc Antoine d’Halluin stated that Canal+ is credible & complimentary partner to support its OTT Pay TV / hybrid satellite growth strategy. d’Halluin further added that the deal would be contributing towards further development of the M7 Group, where more access to content & OTT usage would be decisive.

According to reports, the acquisition is not supposed to be a substitute for Vivendi’s stalled growth strategy, that aimed to transform it into a major media player across Europe’s southern region.

Source Credit:

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2019/05/28/canal-acquires-m7-group-in-e1bn-deal/

https://www.ft.com/content/9990d39a-80a6-11e9-9935-ad75bb96c849