Canal+ Group to acquire a majority stake in SPI International

Canal+ will acquire a 70% majority stake in SPI International while keeping the current management team and operational structure in place. SPI International is a global media company operating 42 TV channels and multiple digital products across six continents, and a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide.

Canal+ Group is a leading world pay TV operator and major player in free-to-air television in France. The company has a wide international footprint with a presence in 40 countries in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In Europe, Canal+ has a strong presence in mainland France and Poland, and has also acquired the M7 Group platform in 2019. The Group totals 22 million subscribers worldwide and has experienced continuous growth of its international business in recent years. This acquisition will help Canal+ to expand its strategy of investing in content and reinforce its offers on its different markets, by relying on European leader Studiocanal, Kino Świat in Poland, and now SPI International.

In the context of this agreement, which will enable complementary know-how and skills to be combined, SPI’s Founder and CEO Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel will continue to manage and develop SPI’s business with the support of their executive committee, while the parties will be able to generate reciprocal synergies to further strengthen the two groups’ presence in the international markets.

In a joint statement, Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel, underlined: “It is very exciting news and the start of a new era for SPI International. Canal+ and SPI share a common vision for continuous growth and a strong international presence. We have been strategic partners for years, where we have built a great tradition of collaborations and achieving mutual goals. Now we will have the chance to join forces under one roof. SPI will further accelerate its growth with Canal+ while leveraging natural synergies. SPI International has an amazingly talented team that has produced incredible growth in the last decade. Now, with this great team and with much enthusiasm, we are delighted to become part of the Canal+ family. Our joined forces will strengthen the existing entertainment products and expand the distribution of our compelling content to far larger audiences”.

Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+ Group, added: “The acquisition of SPI International is part of the strategy we have been implementing for several years. Canal+ currently has 22 million subscribers in over 40 countries, including 15 in Europe. We have set ourselves the goal of reaching a minimum of 30 million subscribers by 2025, and SPI International will certainly be a key asset in achieving this ambition”.

Lastly, Jacques du Puy, CEO of Canal+ International, said: “We are very pleased to welcome SPI to our group. This acquisition marks a new strategic step for the development of our European contents. It will be a great opportunity to develop new synergies and businesses for our activities, especially in the Polish market and in the Central and Eastern European countries where Canal+ operates through M7 brands”.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities in the territories concerned (including in particular the authorities responsible for antitrust and merger control).