Canal+ is the first French company to list on the JSE.
French media giant Canal+ lists on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Picture: X/JSE_Group
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) officially welcomed media giant Canal+ to its main board on Wednesday morning, marking the first listing of a French company on the bourse.
JSE views this listing as a strong validation of the bourse’s deliberate strategy to position itself as a globally competitive, internationally connected exchange.
“It reflects our focus on attracting high-quality global companies increasingly seeing the JSE as a gateway into Africa’s long-term growth story,” Patrycja Kula-Verster, Equity Origination Manager at the JSE, told The Citizen.
Canal+ enters African market
Canal+ entered the African market when it acquired MultiChoice, the continent’s largest streaming platform. However, this acquisition was approved with strict conditions by the Competition Commission, including delivering net public interest benefits to South Africa. Listing on the JSE will allow local investors to maintain access to the combined media entity.
Kula-Verster said that what makes this listing a milestone is the scale of JSE’s inward-listing ecosystem.
“We now have 59 inward listed companies representing R16 trillion in market cap, which accounts for 68% of the JSE’s total market capitalisation,” she said.
“Canal+ opened on the JSE at R58.50 per share on 3 June 2026; the first French company ever to list here, bringing 42 million subscribers, DStv, SuperSport, StudioCanal’s 9,000-title film library and stakes in Viaplay and Viu, all in a single domestically classified share.”
Canal+ secondary listing on JSE
Canal+ holds its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), where it debuted in December 2024. Its JSE listing is a secondary one.
“Through our regulatory reforms, we’ve created an enabling environment for listed companies, and our fast-track secondary listing framework has made it easier, faster and more cost-effective for foreign companies to list while maintaining strong governance and disclosure standards,” said Kula-Verster.
She added that Canal+’s listing is a signal of confidence in South Africa’s capital markets. It underscores the strength, resilience and sophistication of the JSE as a globally recognised financial market.
“The numbers speak for themselves: over the past 20 years, the JSE has facilitated R1.6 trillion in capital raises and over the past decade alone, R590 billion.”
French company market cap
Kula-Verster said Canal+’s opening of R58.50 also signals that SA’s investors assigned immediate value to having this global media group accessible as a domestically classified share.
With an estimated market cap of R58 billion at opening, it is the largest inward listing the JSE has seen in recent memory.
“While macroeconomic and operational challenges do exist, the JSE can offer a robust regulatory framework, deep pools of capital, and broad investment diversity available to both local and international investors,” she said.
“Ultimately, listings of this nature reinforce South Africa’s position as a relevant, globally integrated market that can attract international businesses even in a complex operating environment.”
Might be a great investment
Kula-Verster said this listing provides South African investors with rand-denominated exposure to a global media and entertainment company, diversified across French pay-TV, African satellite (DStv, SuperSport, GOtv), global content (StudioCanal), cybersecurity (Irdeto) and Asian streaming (Viu, Viaplay).
“At R58.50 per share with 991 million shares in issue, Canal+ adds an estimated R58 billion of tradeable market cap to the JSE at opening,” she added.
“If Canal+ achieves Top 40 index inclusion at the September 2026 quarterly review, passive ETFs including Satrix, Sygnia and 1nvest would become mandatory buyers, injecting additional billions in passive demand into the stock.
“More broadly, this listing supports our strategic objective of connecting Africa and global capital, strengthening the JSE’s role as a hub for international investment, contributing to sustained market depth and participation over time.”
Commitment to building a bridge between markets
Canal+ CEO, Maxime Saada, said this listing is proof of the company’s commitment to bridging Africa and Europe.
“Our dual listing reflects our dual continental approach and builds a bridge between the thriving creative economies of Africa and Europe,” he said.
“Our presence in Africa is not merely strategic; it is creative at its core. It gives us a unique opportunity to work hand in hand with local talent to bring those stories to life and to ensure they travel far beyond the continent through our global production and distribution capacities – there is no question their appeal will go far beyond Africa.”
Giving back
One of the conditions the Competition Commission approved the acquisition was that Canal+ would have to invest in South African content and industry development, and it appears the French giant is doing so.
“We invest in talent both in front of and behind the camera. This is precisely why we established the Canal+ University program several years ago and why we continue to expand it today,” said Saada.
“Through Canal+ University we are scaling up training programmes across the continent, with a target of 400 000 hours of training per year and 7 000 industry trainees supported across Africa. And through the MultiChoice Talent Factory, we are already helping shape the next generation of African storytellers.
Nearly 500 young filmmakers [have been] trained across the continent to date. We are committed to offer the best value proposition in cinema, series and of course sports.”
Standard Bank acts as a financial advisor
Standard Bank acted as joint financial advisor and transaction sponsor to the French media giant’s listing on the JSE – “a landmark transaction that brings a globally recognised media and entertainment group to Africa’s premier exchange and provides South African investors with direct access to a leading international content platform,” said the bank.
Standard Bank, the largest bank by assets in Africa, helped to facilitate the transaction, bringing together local market knowledge, execution expertise and regulatory insight.
Richard Stout, Head of Equity Capital Markets, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking, said the listing brings a globally recognised media and entertainment business to the local market, expands the investable universe for domestic investors and reflects continued international confidence in the depth, sophistication and relevance of our exchange.
