South
African conglomerate Naspers plans to float consumer internet businesses with
assets valued at more than 100 billion euros ($112 billion) on the Euronext
stock exchange in Amsterdam on July 17, the media and tech group said on
Wednesday. Naspers will retain a 73% stake in the new company, which will
hold assets including Naspers' 31.2 percent stake in China's Tencent, as well
as its OLX classified businesses in India and Brazil and its U.S. business,
letgo. Naspers shareholders will receive shares representing 27% of the
new company when it lists, Naspers said in a statement. Naspers first outlined
the plan in March. Naspers is motivated by the sheer size of its Tencent stake. The
stake was worth 967 billion Hong Kong dollars, or 110 billion euros, as of
Wednesday -- well more than Naspers itself. Naspers shares were up 1.8 percent to 315,189 South African rand
in Johannesburg on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of 1.37
trillion rand, or 82.7 billion euros. Tencent's rapid growth has led to Naspers' valuation accounting
for more than 25 percent of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top 40 share
index. That makes it problematic for South African pension funds and other
investors in Africa to buy Naspers shares or South African indexes without
disproportionate exposure to Asian tech giant Tencent. "What we're listing is really a new global consumer
internet group that comprises all of our international internet assets,"
Chief Executive Bob van Dijk told reporters on a call. "This is a new opportunity for global tech investors to
access our unique portfolio." He added he hoped the listing would lead to a reduction in the
discount with which Naspers trades to its underlying assets. Naspers' other difficult-to-value internet assets include shares
in a number of emerging market ventures including Russia's biggest social
network mail.ru, online travel companies including MakeMyTrip in India, and
food delivery services including Brazil's iFood. The e-commerce businesses generate $3.3 billion in annual
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, from sales of
nearly $16 billion, with Tencent accounting for virtually all the earnings.This year Naspers also spun out Multichoice, which dominates the
African pay-TV market.
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