was rejected by Naspers<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\nThe company is now stocking up on MultiChoice shares through Groupe Canal+, which may indicate that Vivendi is interested in the bigger prize.<\/p>\n
Commenting on this development, Gilmour said he was surprised by the news and is not sure what Vivendi \u201cis playing at here\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said given the stiff competition which MultiChoice is facing \u2013 notably from Netflix and other streaming providers \u2013 the company is facing a tough future.<\/p>\n
Even with the acquisition rumours, Gilmour did not like MultiChoice as a long-term investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are talking about an operator which is not liked and is very greedy. This is going to come back to bite them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice responds<\/h3>\n
MultiChoice did not directly respond to Gilmour\u2019s statement that the company is greedy and disliked.<\/p>\n
A MultiChoice spokesperson told MyBroadband it is not their policy to comment on the personal views of third parties, including market commentators and analysts.<\/p>\n
Instead, the company commented on the corporate action related to Groupe Canal+ purchasing a large chunk of its shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a listed company, we maintain an open dialogue with our strategic partners and the investment community,\u201d a MultiChoice spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivendi has publicly stated that its stake in MultiChoice Group is a long-term financial investment, demonstrating its confidence in the prospects of the group as the leading video entertainment platform on the African continent and reinforcing its existing long-term relationship with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Independent analyst Chris Gilmour comments<\/h3>\n