Naspers to List Its $134bn Tencent Stake in Europe

By WSJ City 

Africa's most valuable company, Naspers, plans to separately list its internet assets in Amsterdam, creating a European traded tech giant that will house its $134bn stake in China's Tencent Holdings.

The new entity will consist of all the conglomerate's internet interests outside of South Africa, including its 31% stake in Tencent, as well as holdings in Russian social-media operator Mail.ru Group and US online marketplace Letgo.

KEY FACTS

--- Naspers said it would hold 75% of the Euronext Amsterdam-listed business.

--- It will have a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

--- It said the listing would happen no earlier than the second half of this year.

--- The move will allow investors to directly access its portfolio of international internet assets.

--- CEO Bob van Dijk declined to comment on the potential value of the new entity.

Why This Matters

Naspers, with a market value around $100bn, currently trades at a discount to the value of its stake in Tencent, despite having additional profitable businesses. Naspers says that many institutional investors in South Africa have been forced to sell their shares in the company as it grew because of rules limiting how much they can invest in a single stock.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 25, 2019 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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