Breakingviews - Capital Calls - Tencent sale buffs Naspers’ golden cage

  • 4/7/2021
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LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - COMMON CENTS. Naspers is suffering from the ultimate first-world problem. The South African internet investor’s Amsterdam-listed subsidiary Prosus on Wednesday announced it’s selling 2% of Tencent, trimming its holding in the Chinese internet giant to 29%. The sale further cashes in one of the world’s best-ever investments. Naspers Chairman Koos Bekker spent just $36 million on one-third of the fledgling Tencent in 2001; on Wednesday the stake was worth around $240 billion. Assuming buyers demand the same 8% discount as they did when Naspers last sold shares three years ago, Prosus will pocket around $14.2 billion. The move will disappoint investors hoping for more radical action, though. Naspers, which is worth around $108 billion, has long traded at a big discount to the implied value of its stakes in Tencent and other internet stocks. Despite a $5 billion share buyback last year, CEO Bob van Dijk has struggled to close the gap. Selling another slice of Tencent may only highlight the problem. (By Peter Thal Larsen)

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