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Today’s Briefing:
Milei’s Landslide Victory
Canal+ Squeeze Out MultiChoice Investors
Coca-Cola’s R17bn Charge
🇦🇷 Argentina's Market Mandate
Argentine President Javier Milei’s party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s midterm elections, giving his "fiscal chainsaw" reforms a powerful new mandate and sending markets soaring.
Why it matters: Investors, who had been spooked by a recent run on the peso, are now betting the pro-market reforms are back on track.
The win provides crucial political cover and eases immediate fears that Argentina would run out of dollars to pay its debts.
By the numbers: The market reaction on Monday was explosive.
Stocks: The Merval stock index soared 20%.
Bonds: Government dollar bonds surged, with yields tumbling below 10%. A 2035 bond jumped 12 cents on the dollar.
Currency: The peso strengthened about 6% to 1,405 against the US dollar, reversing recent steep losses.
"Today is clearly a historic day for Argentina. ... The Argentine people decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence and to persist on the road of freedom, progress and growth."
The big picture: Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party captured nearly 41% of the national vote, soundly defeating the Peronist opposition, which pulled in around 32%.
This was a surprise: Polls had suggested a much closer contest, with some even pointing to a Peronist advantage.
The backdrop: Before the vote, investors and local savers had been pulling money out of the country.
This triggered a run on the peso last month and forced the government to burn through scarce foreign reserves to prop up the currency.
Zoom in: The US Backing
The Trump administration, which sees Milei as a key regional ally against Chinese influence, celebrated the result.
The U.S. has been a critical financial backstop, promising a $40bn support package and already spending an estimated $2bn supporting the peso.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the victory on Truth Social.
"Congratulations to President Javier Milei on his Landslide Victory in Argentina. He is doing a wonderful job! Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina."
The bottom line: The election was an endorsement of Milei's "bitter pill" strategy—the public's willingness to tolerate short-term pain for long-term reform.
While the win reduces pressure for an immediate, chaotic devaluation, most investors still believe the overvalued peso must be adjusted to boost exports.
This move, however, will likely push inflation up in the short term.
What’s next: Milei’s position in congress is significantly stronger, but he still lacks an outright majority.
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📺 Canal+ triggers "squeeze out" of MultiChoice
French broadcaster Canal+ is moving to delist MultiChoice from the JSE and is forcing the DStv operator's remaining minority shareholders to sell their stock.
Why it matters: This is the final step in Canal+'s full takeover of the South African media giant. Once complete, MultiChoice will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the French group and its shares will no longer trade publicly.
Go deeper: Canal+ initiated a "squeeze out" on Friday, using section 124 of the Companies Act.
This legal provision allows a majority shareholder to compulsorily acquire all remaining shares. Canal+ holds 94.39% of MultiChoice's equity.
The French group is now moving to acquire the remaining 5%+ it does not yet own.
What’s next:
Trading halts: Trading of MultiChoice shares on the JSE will be suspended from October 27.
Delisting day: The company is expected to be fully delisted on December 10.
The bottom line for customers:
For current DStv subscribers, all subscription and billing arrangements will remain the same.
In a separate move to grow its customer base, MultiChoice announced new promotions, including significant price cuts on HD decoders.
"From the start of November we will be reducing our HD decoder pricing by 30% in retail channels and over 40% through our newly launched DStv store to make joining and reconnecting with DStv easier and more affordable than ever."
🥤 Coca-Cola Books R17bn Charge on Africa Bottling Deal
Coca-Cola is bracing for a $1bn (R17.2bn) impairment charge as it sells a majority stake in its African bottling operations, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA).
Why it matters: The deal, which values CCBA at $3.4bn, will create the world's second-largest Coca-Cola bottler by volume.
The Deal: London-listed Coca-Cola HBC (CCH) will acquire a 75% stake in CCBA by buying Coca-Cola's 41.5% interest and Gutsche Family Investments' 33.5% interest.
The Timeline: The transaction is expected to close by the end of next year, pending regulatory approvals.
Explaining the $1bn Hit: The massive charge isn't an operational loss but an accounting requirement.
Because the operations are now classified as "held for sale," Coca-Cola must adjust their value on the books.
The impairment charge stems from reclassifying "significant negative net foreign currency translation adjustments" that will hit the income statement upon the sale.
What they're saying
CCH CEO Zoran Bogdanovic highlighted the appeal of CCBA's market mix, which balances established markets like South Africa (60% of volumes) with high-growth emerging markets like Ethiopia.
"These markets have very attractive demographics... with low per capita consumption, offering significant upside potential."
He added, "We'd also like to invest further in CCBA, jointly with The Coca-Cola Company, to support long-term growth."
🌍 The Strategic Shift
For the buyer (CCH): The acquisition provides significant diversification away from Russia, its top-selling market in 2024.
This move mitigates risks associated with ongoing sanctions.
For the JSE: CCH will pursue a secondary listing on the JSE upon the deal's completion, handing the domestic exchange a major new listing.
For CCBA: As Africa's largest bottler (accounting for 40% of Coke volumes), it continues to expand, recently investing R365m in a new high-speed bottling line in Midrand.
Results from Prior Poll:
Which reform outlined in the paper would do the most to fix the U.S. high-skilled immigration system?
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Raise the caps: Significantly increase the number of employment-based green cards and H-1B visas available each year. (25%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ End the H-1B lottery: Replace the random lottery with a merit-based system, like awarding visas to the highest-paying jobs. (25%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Add a points-based system: Create a new pathway that awards visas to immigrants who score highest on factors like education, salary, and skills (50%).
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Proactive talent scouting: Have the government create a "talent-scouting arm" to actively recruit top global scientists and entrepreneurs. (0%)