Canal+ is to pay $200m for an initial 26.1% stake in Viu and will make a total staggered investment of $300m.
Canal+ has agreed to buy a significant minority stake in PCCW’s pan-regional OTT service Viu, which currently operates with a fremium model in 16 territories in Asia and the Middle East.
Canal+ will make a staggered investment of $300m in Viu, including an initial investment of $200m, resulting in a 26.1% stake. It also has the option to make further investments and turn that stake into a controlling 51%.
With over 66m monthly active users (MAU) and 12m paid subscribers, Viu has been consistently ranked as the top video streaming platform in terms of MAU and second in terms of subscribers and streaming minutes amongst both global and regional players in Southeast Asia.
It produces a wide range of local-language drama series and lifestyle programming, with a focus on Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and was a first mover in the acquisition of Korean content. In 2022, Viu reported $250M in revenue, representing growth of 36% year over year.
This new strategic partnership will enable the further growth of Viu, leveraging the global strength and expertise of Canal+ through various initiatives including collaboration on premium productions and content creation, expansion of global market reach for Viu, and continual user experience improvement. The partnership will allow Canal+ to take a major step in developing Asia as its next growth engine.
Commenting on the deal, Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+ Group, said: “I am extremely happy to announce this partnership with PCCW. Canal+ already has leading market positions in Europe and Africa. We are now looking forward to developing Asia as an additional growth engine for the group. Our investment in Viu is a major step towards achieving this goal. Viu is already a business with scale, with its hybrid AVOD and SVOD business model and focus on local content, it has all the ingredients to deliver superior growth and continue to be a leading service in the region and beyond.”
Susanna Hui, Acting Group Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer, PCCW, added: “We are very pleased to embark on a partnership with Canal+ to take Viu to the next level with the prospect of global synergies coming from both Canal+ and PCCW. With Viu having established its leadership as a pan-regional streaming service, we believe this is the right time to introduce a strategic partner into the business that would see us furthering our global expansion and growth by unleashing the potential of the Viu business at scale and to create further value for our shareholders.”
Jacques du Puy, CEO of Canal+ International, stated: “I am impressed with what the Viu team has been able to achieve so far. 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.”
Janice Lee, CEO and PCCW Media Managing Director, Viu, commented: “When we launched Viu, we had set our sights on creating and transforming our media business into an international play by tapping into larger addressable markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. Having created a robust streaming business, we are excited to have the addition of Canal+ as a strategic investor to further accelerate growth by drawing on Canal+’s global strength in premium productions, content creation and distribution expertise. We look forward to the next phase of our business with the combined strengths of PCCW and Canal+ behind Viu.”
