Bond issue amount increased by more than a third as company looks to expand global footprint
France’s Canal+ has secured €700m (£613m) from investors after increasing the amount it planned to raise following surging demand.
The London-listed media giant was initially looking to issue a bond offering of €500m but raised that by a further €200m after oversubscription.
Canal+ said the proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing the company’s bridging loan that enabled it to buy South Africa’s Multichoice Group earlier this year.
That deal, which formally wrapped on 7 October, was greenlit by competition regulators earlier in the summer.
It means Canal+ now has more than 40 million subscribers located in almost 70 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, with chief exec Maxime Saada previously describing it as the “most transformative acquisition in [Canal+] history”.
Canal+, which split from parent Vivendi last year and subsequently listed in London, has interests in streamers around the world, including Viu in Asia, in which it holds a 37.2% stake, with the option of taking that up to 51% by the end of 2026.
The group also owns a 29.3% stake in Nordic-focused Viaplay, making it the streamer’s largest investor.
Olivier Bibas, head of original drama at Canal+, told Broadcast International earlier this summer that the company’s expanding international footprint will allow it to greenlight more bigger budget shows in the vein of Paris Has Fallen, as it looks to compete with US-based streamers.
Amandine Ferré, chief financial officer at Canal+, said the high level of demand for the recent bond issue “illustrates confidence in our financial profile and our strategy…”
The senior unsecured notes are due to be repaid in 2030 and have an annual coupon rate of 4.625%.
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