The French broadcaster owned by billionaire Vincent Bollore’s Vivendi, Canal+ has decided to buy a significant minority stake in Hong Kong-listed PCCW’s Viu unit as part of a partnership agreement between the two media groups.
According to a statement on Wednesday, the European firm paid $200-million for a 26.1% stake in Viu, which is an over-the-top video streaming platform available in Asia, the Middle East as well as South Africa. The investment could swell to $300-million (R5.5-billion) in total if certain conditions are met, which would the give Canal+ an option to further increase its stake to 51%, the statement showed.
The statement also revealed that the deal is set to help accelerate the growth of Viu’s content and its geographical reach, while bolstering Canal+’s presence in Asia. By the end of 2022, Viu had more than 66 million monthly active users and 12 million paid subscribers. The platform’s offerings include Korean content as well as its Viu Originals produced in markets including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Canal+ International’s CEO, Jacques du Puy said: “We are now looking forward to supporting Viu’s rapid growth over the coming years, including through synergies with our existing operations in Vietnam and Myanmar as well as in Africa and the Middle East.”
Viu is owned by PCCW, the Hong Kong telecommunications, media and technology conglomerate controlled by billionaire Richard Li.
