Tencent’s biggest investor Naspers to spin off 31 per cent stake to form Europe’s largest listed consumer internet group

Naspers plans to carve out its internet businesses, including a US$133-billion stake in China’s Tencent Holdings that has long exceeded the South African technology investor’s own market value.

Cape Town-based Naspers chose Euronext Amsterdam to list a business that includes its 31 per cent holding in Hong Kong-traded Tencent, which runs the world’s biggest video games business by revenue and China’s largest social media operation, as well as investments in Russian internet platform Mail.Ru, German food delivery business Delivery Hero and Indian online food delivery start-up Swiggy.

The listing, meant to attract international investors, is part of chief executive Bob Van Dijk’s effort to reduce the gap between Nasper’s market value of about 1.41 trillion rand (US$97.9 billion) and its Tencent stake.

Naspers has been considering listings other than its primary one in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which some investors have encouraged.

Naspers, Africa’s largest company, accounts for about 25 per cent of the JSE’s weighting. It has seen its value ebb and flow with the holding limits of South African institutional investors and emerging market sentiment.

“When the transaction is complete about a quarter of the Naspers market value will have moved from the JSE,” Van Dijk said in a phone interview.