Canal+ acquired Comcast’s 30% stake in Showmax before shutting down the streaming service, absorbing €37 million in accumulated losses in the process.
The transaction details appeared in a footnote to Canal+’s half-year financial results, released Tuesday. The group recorded the purchase of the remaining non-controlling interests in Showmax “prior to its closure,” which erased a €37 million negative balance from its equity.
How the buyout cleaned the balance sheet
When a subsidiary incurs losses, the minority shareholder’s portion is deducted from its stake. Under international accounting rules, this allocation continues even after the stake is exhausted, creating a deficit. By the time Canal+ acted, the minority shareholder’s share of Showmax’s losses had exceeded its original investment, leaving a €37 million shortfall on the books.
This deficit worked in Canal+’s favor—it represented losses assigned to the minority rather than the parent company. Buying out the stake removed it from the accounts. Since the transaction is treated as a shareholder deal rather than a trading event, the €37 million bypassed the income statement and reduced equity attributable to Canal+ shareholders.
The exact amount Canal+ paid Comcast remains unclear. The only cash movement in the period is a €1 million entry for acquiring non-controlling interests, but the group does not specify what it covers. Other minority stake transactions, including the sale of its Vietnamese operation, occurred in the same half-year.
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Full ownership eliminated the need to negotiate each step of the shutdown with a partner whose priorities had shifted. Closing a joint venture typically requires the other shareholder’s approval—something that no longer posed a problem once Canal+ held complete control.
A €48 million tax gain turned loss into profit
Showmax earned €11 million in revenue before closing at the end of April, down from €23 million in the same period last year. Its adjusted loss before interest, tax, and exceptional items shrank to €21 million from €52 million, though the platform operated for only four months of the current period compared to six in the prior year.
The closure still carried significant costs. Content expenses totaled €69 million, including a €44 million impairment of content assets and a €14 million charge for onerous agreements. Cash outflows surged to €70 million from €39 million a year earlier, as wind-down payments were processed.
The minority shareholder’s share of the losses in the period amounted to €13 million—the final allocation before the stake changed hands. For the full 2025 financial year, Canal+ stated that Showmax reduced combined adjusted earnings by €92 million and net profit by €29 million.
The shutdown also triggered a €48 million one-off tax gain, converting a €31 million operating loss into a €15 million net gain for the period. While Canal+ did not directly link the tax treatment to the ownership change, the timing suggests a connection.
Another accounting benefit emerged: a €28 million credit note received to settle outstanding contractual agreements. The company said this resulted in a favorable adjustment to previously recognized content costs and liabilities.
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Canal+ announced the shutdown on March 5 and discontinued the service at the end of April.
The move to acquire Comcast’s stake before closing Showmax likely saved Canal+ months of negotiations. It also meant absorbing the full financial impact immediately—along with the costs of winding down a platform that had never turned a profit.
For subscribers, the closure created a void in African streaming. Netflix and local broadcaster e.tv have since stepped in, but the collapse of a service once positioned as the continent’s alternative to global platforms highlights the challenges of operating outside the U.S. and Europe.
The financials reveal the scale of the problem.
No clear path to profitability ever materialized in the accounts.