France’s Canal+ Group has been cleared by the French Competition Authority to finalise its acquisition of telco Orange’s rival pay TV platform OCS and production division Orange Studio.
However, the French Competition Authority has made the transaction subject to certain commitments by Canal+.
Before the deal, Canal+ was a joint shareholder with Orange in French pay-TV platform OCS with a 33.3% stake. It will now become the sole owner of the business.
The Competition Authority found that the transaction could have had a significant impact on the diversity of French cinema by creating a single buyer situation in certain markets.
As a result, Canal+ has committed to maintain an OCS/Ciné+ acquisition team dedicated to pre-purchasing first-pay-window French films from French producers, separate from that of Canal+.
Canal+ has also committed to make, on behalf of the Ciné+/OCS team, pre-purchase proposals for a minimum of 25 French film projects over five years.
Orange and the Canal+ Group signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the acquisition of OCS and Orange Studio by the Canal+ Group back in January 2023.
Orange Studio has more than 200 co-productions to its credit as well as a catalogue of nearly 1,800 audiovisual and cinematographic works, including Oscar-winning films such as The Artist and The Father.
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