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The pay-TV division of French media and telecoms group Vivendi Canal+ The group increased its holdings Asian anchor Viu That rose to 36.8%, the company said Thursday.
“Following the achievement of key operational milestones, the Canal+ Group has paid the final installment of its $300 million investment,” the company explained. “If Canal+ continues to invest, its stake in Viu could increase to 51%.”
The company did not immediately specify what conditions were required to make the decision to acquire a majority stake in the Hong Kong video streaming company. But it did highlight its interest in Asia. “This investment reaffirms Canal+’s commitment to developing Asia as one of the group’s growth engines and underscores Canal+’s confidence in Viu and its team.”
Canal+ originally acquired Viu and is led by CEO Janice Lee. June 2023 transaction Canal+ has reached an agreement with Hong Kong telecom giant PCCW Group to take a 26.1% stake. As part of the deal, Canal+ has the right to pay additional amounts to increase its stake to 51%.
Viu’s video service, which launched in 2015 with the backing of PCCW, offers advertising and subscription-supported options in 16 territories across Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. Last year, when the company announced its deal with Canal+, it said it had more than 66 million monthly active users and more than 12 million paying subscribers, most of whom are in Asia. Viu focuses on licensing and producing original Korean content, but it also creates original content in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Canal+ has 26.4 million subscribers worldwide, including 17.1 million in Europe, 8.1 million in Africa and 1.2 million in Asia Pacific. In addition to its investment in Viu, it is also the largest shareholder in African pay-TV giant MultiChoice and Scandinavian pay-TV and streaming company Viaplay. Earlier this year, it also took a stake in Senegal’s leading production company Marodi TV.
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