JOHANNESBURG, April 8 Reuters French media group Vivendi39;s Canal on Monday made a mandatory offer to buy all the shares of South African broadcaster MultiChoice it does not already own, both companies said.

Canal, the biggest shareholder in MultiChoice, is offering 125 rand per share in cash, valuing the pending purchase at about 35 billion rand 1.9 billion and the whole company at about 55 billion rand, according to Reuters calculations.

The offer price represents a premium of 66 to MultiChoice39;s closing price of 75 rand on February 1, the stock39;s last trading day before Canal delivered its indicative offer.

The deal would create a panAfrican broadcasting powerhouse able to put African content to global audiences as well as compete on an international scale.

The French media company has broad reach in Frenchspeaking African nations, MultiChoice has a stronger presence in Englishspeaking countries, including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

MultiChoice39;s board has appointed Standard Bank of South Africa Limited as its advisor on the deal, the companies said.

1 18.7119 rand

Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tom Hogue and Miral Fahmy

Source Reuters