REG - Canal+ S.A - CANAL+ in Exclusive Negotiations for UGC Stake

Canal+ SAAnnouncement

02/09/2025 18:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250902:nRSB7302Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 7302X  Canal+ S.A  02 September 2025

 

Press release

CANAL+ SA (LSE: CAN)

Issy-les-Moulineaux, 2 September 2025

This announcement contains Inside Information

 

CANAL+ ENTERS EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS

TO ACQUIRE A MINORITY STAKE IN UGC,

A LEADING FRENCH CINEMA GROUP,

FOLLOWED BY POTENTIAL FULL CONTROL IN 2028

 

CANAL+ group and UGC have entered into exclusive negotiations regarding CANAL+
group's acquisition of a minority (34%) stake in the historic French cinema
player, UGC. Following the acquisition of the minority stake, CANAL+ would
have the option, following agreement with UGC's shareholders, to take full
control of UGC from 2028.

 

UGC is a leading French cinema and audiovisual production group with one of
France's strongest cinema chains, content libraries, and networks of talent.
With 55 theatres (48 in France and 7 in Belgium) and tens of millions of
admissions each year, UGC is one of the largest cinema chains in France. UGC
primarily operates large flagship multiplexes in cities, including the UGC
Ciné Cité Les Halles in Paris, the most visited cinema in the world. UGC's
content library includes popular, high-performing comedies and successful
franchises such as Qu'est ce qu'on a fait au bon Dieu - Serial (bad) Weddings,
the iconic Amélie and TV series such as worldwide hits HPI - High Potential
and Soleil Noir - under a Dark Sun.

 

CANAL+ is a global media powerhouse with close to 27 million subscribers
spread across 52 countries. CANAL+'s in-house studio, STUDIOCANAL, is one of
Europe's leading Film and TV studios. STUDIOCANAL produces and distributes
around 200 films globally, owns one of the most prestigious film catalogues in
the world and the largest in Europe, featuring world-renowned IP such as
Paddington and Bridget Jones.

 

The signing of the proposed transaction will be subject, if applicable, to
information and consultation of employees' representative bodies.

 

Maxime Saada, Chief Executive Officer of CANAL+, said:

 

"Since its creation in 1984, CANAL+ has been the number one partner and
supporter of French and European cinema. UGC has built a remarkable network of
theatres, an exceptional library of content and outstanding IP. The growth of
STUDIOCANAL, led by Anna Marsh, is a priority for the CANAL+ group, and
combining our business with UGC would enable us to accelerate this
development. This transaction demonstrates the group's commitment to Cinema
and theatrical exhibition, which play a vital role in showcasing and enhancing
the value of films."

 

Market Abuse Regulation Statement

This Announcement contains inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this
Announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is
considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging
the release of this announcement on behalf of Canal+ S.A is Laëtitia
Ménasé, Company Secretary.

- ENDS -

 ABOUT CANAL+

 

Founded as a French subscription-TV channel 40 years ago, CANAL+ is now a
global media and entertainment company. The group has 26.9 million subscribers
worldwide, over 400 million monthly active users on its video streaming
platforms, and a total of more than 9,000 employees. It generates revenues in
195 countries and operates directly in 52 countries, with leading positions in
Pay-TV in 20 of them. CANAL+ operates across the entire audio-visual value
chain, including production, broadcast, distribution and aggregation.

 

It is home to STUDIOCANAL, a leading film and television studio with worldwide
production and distribution capabilities; Dailymotion, major international
video platform powered by cutting-edge proprietary technology for video
delivery, advertising, and monetization; Thema, a production and distribution
company specialising in creating and distributing diverse content and
channels; and telecommunication services, through GVA in Africa and CANAL+
Telecom in the French overseas jurisdictions and territories. It also operates
the iconic performance venues L'Olympia and Théâtre de l'Œuvre in France.

 

CANAL+ has also significant equity stakes across Africa, Europe and Asia,
namely in MultiChoice (the Pay-TV leader in English and Portuguese-speaking
Africa), Viaplay (the Pay-TV leader in Scandinavia) and Viu (a leading AVOD
platform in Southern-Asia).

canalplusgroup.com/en
(https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.canalplusgroup.com%2Fen&data=05%7C02%7CElvire.CHARBONNEL%40canal-plus.com%7C5f7002f62df647e399bd08ddd58e99a1%7Cbf5c5de16a544091a72f90e32801628c%7C1%7C0%7C638901530613831172%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FuYCL9%2F5XVHJad6R%2BPQHxVkqgHadXI5%2B7XYJHfodrDM%3D&reserved=0)

 

CONTACTS

 

Elvire Charbonnel - Corporate Communications: elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com
(mailto:elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com)

Andrew Swailes - Financial Communications: andrew.swailes@canal-plus.com
(mailto:andrew.swailes@canal-plus.com)

Alima Levy - Investor Relations: ir@canal-plus.com (mailto:ir@canal-plus.com)

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  ACQBRGDCCDGDGUD