French media group Vivendi’s, Canal+, on Monday made a mandatory offer to buy all the shares of South African broadcaster MultiChoice it does not already own, both companies said.

Canal+, the biggest shareholder in MultiChoice, is offering 125 rand per share in cash, valuing the pending purchase at about 35 billion rand ($1.9 billion) and the whole company at about 55 billion rand, according to Reuters calculations.

The offer price represents a premium of 66 per cent to MultiChoice’s closing price of 75 rand on February 1, the stock’s last trading day before Canal+ delivered its indicative offer.

The deal would create a pan-African broadcasting powerhouse able to put African content to global audiences as well as compete on an international scale.

The French media company has broad reach in French-speaking African nations, MultiChoice has a stronger presence in English-speaking countries, including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

MultiChoice’s board has appointed Standard Bank of South Africa Limited as its advisor on the deal, the companies said.

• A Reuters report