Naspers has announced plans to list Prosus on Euronext Amsterdam along with a secondary, inward listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa on Wednesday 11 September 2019.
The Cape Town-based company said it expects to own at least 73% of Prosus and the free float is expected to be up to 27%, created by Naspers through a capitalisation issue of Prosus shares to Naspers shareholders (as described below).
Last month, Naspers announced it has delayed the listing of its international internet assets on Euronext Amsterdam and secondary, inward listing on JSE.
The company attributed the delay to an administrative error by an external service provider. The error has resulted in certain of the copies of the circular delivered to shareholders being incorrectly labelled, said the firm.
Naspers is planning to spin off assets including a $134 billion stake in Tencent Holdings Ltd. on the Euronext exchange.
“Following the delay to the original timing, I am pleased that the listing of Prosus is on track to be completed in September. It’s a significant step for Naspers and will present a new opportunity for global internet investors to access our unique portfolio of international internet assets, with incremental investment creating a strong platform for our future growth ambitions,” Bob van Dijk, Group CEO, Naspers, said.
“At the same time, the listing is designed to reduce our weighting on the JSE, which will address unhelpful market dynamics for our shareholders. We, therefore, believe the listing will help us maximise shareholder value over time.”
Prosus will be a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, and is likely to become Europe’s largest listed consumer internet company by asset value.
It will comprise all of Naspers’s internet interests outside of South Africa, including its companies and investments in the online classifieds, payments and FinTech, food delivery, etail, travel, education, and social and internet platforms sectors, among others. These assets are some of the world’s leading and fastest-growing internet brands, such as Mail.ru, OLX, Avito, letgo, PayU, Tencent, iFood, Swiggy, DeliveryHero, Udemy, eMAG, and MakeMyTrip.
Prosus will be a strategic investor and operator, aiming to build leading technology companies that improve people’s daily lives in high-growth markets.
The listing of Prosus on Euronext Amsterdam is expected to reduce significant structural barriers for shareholder ownership of Naspers, and represents another major step by management to pursue continued growth, helping to maximise shareholder value over time. This action follows the unbundling of MultiChoice Group in March, which unlocked approximately $3.5 billion for Naspers shareholders.
