Analysts pour cold water on new DStv owner’s listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Two South African financial analysts don’t believe local investors have much to be excited about with Canal+’s listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The French media giant listed on the JSE on 3 June 2026, while maintaining its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The secondary listing on the local bourse was one of the Competition Commission’s conditions of its acquisition of MultiChoice, which was delisted from the JSE shortly after the transaction.
While up 18.82% over the past year, Canal+’s share price has taken a beating in the 2026 year-to-date, driven by unimpressive financial results in 2025.
Before the announcement, a Canal+ share was trading at about £2.96. By market close on the day of the announcement, it was down 24% to £2.26.
Over the next week, it would continue to plunge to around £1.90, down 36% from before the results announcement. MultiChoice’s dismal showing contributed significantly to that decline.
Canal+’s overall revenue increased to €8.67 billion with a €2.4 billion contribution from MultiChoice. However, MultiChoice’s revenue was down 6% from the previous year.
That was due in part to its customer base shrinking by another 500,000 subscribers to 14.4 million. The broadcaster’s subscriber base peaked at 17.3 million in March 2023.
MultiChoice already reported a cumulative loss of R7 billion in the two financial years before its takeover by Canal+.
A large part of that could be attributed to more than R10 billion in trading losses due to its failed relaunch of Showmax, which Canal+ deemed an “expensive failure” and shut down at the end of April 2026.
To turn the business around and return it to sustainable growth, Canal+ announced a plan to invest another €100 million (R1.9 billion) in MultiChoice.
The company already spent R30 billion on acquiring the remaining shares in MultiChoice in 2025. That investment excluded the amounts it had spent on its initial 35% shareholding.
AlphaValue told Reuters that the first quarter of MultiChoice’s consolidation and the details of its African development plan were unlikely to excite investors.
Canal+ growth
While Canal+’s share price had recovered to around £2.50 by late May 2026, two local analysts still don’t believe the stock makes for an attractive investment.
In a recent BusinessDay TV interview, Protea Capital Asset Management’s Jean-Pierre Verster said he does not see Canal+ as a growth business.
“I don’t necessarily see it as a great opportunity just because it will be listed on the JSE as well,” Verster said.
“It will give people more choice, and that is positive, but it might be an opportunity to go long or short when it finally lists.”
Going long generally refers to an investor buying and holding a stock or asset, believing that its price will increase.
Shorting refers to borrowing a stock and selling it immediately, hoping its price will decrease, allowing the investor to buy it back at a lower price and return it to the lender.
Simply put, Verster said it was unclear whether investors would find more value betting against Canal+ than from buying and holding its stock by the time it lists on the JSE.
MP99 Capital Asset Management chief investment officer Aheesh Singh concurred with Verster’s view that Canal+ was not a growth stock.
He believes that Canal+’s primary interest in MultiChoice was due to its high cash generation.
“When you compare the MultiChoice South Africa margins, if you look at EBITDA margins, over the last five years they have sat at around 20%,” Singh said. “Canal+’s operating margins are half that.”
“They have a lot of turnaround work to do regarding MultiChoice as a group and integrating all of their systems. There are better opportunities in the market right now.”
Canal+ share price on London Stock Exchange — 2026 YTD
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