![]() ![]() ![]() The operational model from M7, and our ambitions to grow in Europe, will not change and all operations will continue to be managed from our Luxembourg headquarters.” Following this transaction M7 will get access to the content creation and channel publishing capabilities of Canal+. Hans Troelstra, CEO of M7 Group further commented: “Over the last 5 years, we have successfully transformed our Satellite HD offers to fully interactive hybrid offers available on all devices including Smart – TV’s. This is a logical step for the M7 success story as both M7 and Canal+ share the same operational values centered on a great customer experience.” Canal+ will contribute to the further development of M7, where OTT usage and access to more content will be decisive. Marc Antoine d’Halluin, Chairman of the M7 board, stated: “Based on its current geographical footprint and positioning, Canal+ is a very credible and complementary partner to support the hybrid satellite / OTT Pay TV strategy of M7. Canal+ strong interest in M7 is a testimony of the remarkable strategy rolled-out by the M7 management team.”Ĭanal+ was a natural strategic partner to pursue the M7 project. In line with our investment philosophy, Astorg has encouraged M7 to develop its external growth through acquisitions (the most recent one being UPC Direct in Eastern Europe) and also investments made to improve the customer experience (e.g. Providence and Airbridge Investments continued to be significant minority shareholders of M7.Ĭommenting on the acquisition by Canal+, Charles-Hubert le Baron, at Astorg said: “Since our cooperation with M7 in 2014, the company has continued to expand its business rapidly in Eastern Europe, while further upselling its subscriber base across all geographies. In September 2014 the investment firm acquired a majority stake in M7, from an investor group led by Providence Equity Partners. M7 is owned by private equity firm Astorg Partners. At the end of the transaction, the Canal+ Group will hold almost 20 million subscribers worldwide, including 12 million in Europe. Between them the operations have 3 million subscribers to hybrid satellite / OTT Pay TV packages with 800,000 subscribing to an basic access package. M7 has operations in Belgium (TV Vlaanderen and TéléSat), the Netherlands (CanalDigitaal and ), Austria (HD Austria), Skylink in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and M7 Germany in Germany. This major acquisition would allow us to reinforce our distribution capacity and to spread more widely the contents of our catalog and our numerous production activities in Europe.” Our global subscriber base will have almost doubled in five years, with a clear acceleration since 2015. The operation would allow Canal+ Group to approach the 20 million subscribers worldwide. Maxime Saada, Chairman of the Canal+ Group Executive Board, said: “We are particularly pleased with this acquisition project achieved thanks to Vivendi’s full support. In a statement, Canal said the acquisition price would be set at just over €1 billion, based on a turnover of more than €400 million. ![]() Canal+ has acquired the Luxembourg-based M7, which operates a series of independent pay-TV platforms across the Benelux and Central Europe. ![]()
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