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Naspers Denies Rumours of Selling Stake in Tencent

November 2, 2022

Naspers has rubbished a report that it is in talks with a Chinese investment company to sell all its remaining shares in Tencent. Naspers has rubbished an Asian media report that it is in talks with a Chinese state-owned investment company to sell all its remaining shares in Tencent Holdings.

The JSE-listed company, which holds its investment in Tencent through Amsterdam-listed subsidiary Prosus, said in a statement to shareholders that the report, by a publication called Asian tech Press, is “speculative and untrue”.

“The group continues with its open-ended share repurchase programme announced in June this year, which is funded by the sale of small numbers of ordinary shares in Tencent held by the group regularly and in an orderly manner,” Naspers said.

The Naspers and Prosus boards reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent’s long-term prospects.

“The Naspers and Prosus boards reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent’s long-term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus and Naspers and their respective shareholders.”

Naspers shares were trading up almost 10% in Johannesburg on Tuesday, driven higher by a 10.7% rally in Tencent’s share price in Hong Kong.

Tech stocks led a rebound in Chinese stocks on Tuesday as dip buyers emerged following a rout that pushed key gauges to multi-year lows.

The Hang Seng Tech Index jumped as much as 6.2% on Tuesday before trimming some of its advance, with Internet giants Meituan and Tencent the biggest contributors to gains. A broader gauge of Chinese firms traded in Hong Kong rose as much as 4.3%, bouncing back from its lowest close since late 2005.

The advance comes after a heavy bout of selling following the Communist Party congress, where President Xi Jinping solidified his grip on power. Chinese stocks have been among the worst performers globally this year as investors face a wall of concerns from geopolitical tensions to slowing economic growth amid Covid restrictions.

“Obviously there are some bottom-fishing activities today after heavy selloffs,” said Banny Lam, head of research at CEB International Investment, adding that some investors are looking to add positions given the new month. “The markets might be volatile in the coming days, however, as investors are waiting for Fed comments.”

Even with Tuesday’s rebound, few expect the rally to be sustainable. China’s economic growth remains a concern, with both manufacturing and services activity contracting in October. A property market crisis is deepening, with the nation’s new home sales falling another 28%. A recent nationwide surge in Covid infections is also adding to worries.

Traders remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later this week. While policy makers are widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the fourth straight time on Wednesday, where they go from there remains up for debate.

“Such strong rises across the board especially with Chinese tech looks more like short covering,” said Ken Wong, Asian equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments Hong Kong Ltd. He added that it is “a bit early to have sentiment changing”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

African Internet Giant, Naspers, Shifts To Europe

May 14, 2021

Amsterdam-based technology investor Prosus NV has announced plans to acquire up to 45.4 percent of shares in its parent Naspers of South Africa by issuing new Prosus shares in a deal aimed at moving part of the value of their massive stake in Tencent to Europe from Africa.
Naspers, which has a controlling stake in Prosus and would retain control, hopes the deal will improve valuations for both companies.

Both trade at a discount to the value of the massive 28.9 percent stake that Prosus holds in Chinese software and gaming giant Tencent Holdings, worth 172 billion euros ($208.6 billion) at current market prices.

“The share offer we have announced today will extend Prosus’s standing as Europe’s largest internet company,” said Bob van Dijk, CEO of both companies, in a statement.

He stated that Prosus shareholders would benefit because the Naspers N shares that Prosus will purchase trade at a greater discount to the value of the Tencent stake than Prosus shares do. Naspers shares have recently traded at a discount of around 25% to Tencent stake value, while Prosus trades at a 15% discount.

According to the companies, Naspers shareholders’ share prices should trade more in line with the value of Tencent’s stake, and Naspers will continue to be the largest company on the Johannesburg stock exchange.

He stated that Prosus shareholders would benefit because the Naspers N shares that Prosus will buy trade at a higher discount to the value of the Tencent stake than Prosus shares do. Naspers shares have recently traded at a 25% discount to Tencent stake value, while Prosus trades at a 15% discount.

According to the companies, Naspers shareholders’ share prices will trade more in line with Tencent’s stake value, and Naspers will remain the largest company on the Johannesburg stock exchange.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Naspers Say There’s No Need for Amazon to Enter South Africa’s eCommerce Industry

February 19, 2021

The Chief Executive Officer of Naspers and Prosus believes that Amazon may not enter South Africa’s eCommerce sector “any time soon”. Speaking to journalists Bob van Dijk said that a key reason for this is “Naspers-controlled e-retailer Takealot.com is doing a really, really good job serving South African online consumers”.

Naspers Chief Executive Officer Bob van Dijk

“We look closely at the Net Promoter Score, which is really whether people like the service enough to recommend it to others. There, Takealot has done just a fantastic job,” says van Dijk. “If they manage to continue to make customers happy at scale, like they have been doing, then I think there is limited room for Amazon to come in and offer something better.”

Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has revealed that he will step down from his role in Q3 of this year. He is expected to transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board while Andy Jassy will become CEO.

“Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence,” writes Bezos.

Amazon began as an idea some 27 years ago. Today, it employs 1.3 million dedicated people, serves hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.

“As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it’s working. Other large companies are coming our way.”

Bezos goes on to say that as Executive Chair, he will be engaged in important Amazon initiatives but now he will also have the time and energy to need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and other passions. “I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

E-commerce And Food Delivery Lead South Africa’s Biggest Tech Investor Prosus’ Profitable Outing In 2019

June 30, 2020

One of the world’s largest tech investors and the global internet arm of South Africa’s company Naspers, Prosus N.V. (AEX:PRX), has announced its results for the twelve months ended 31 March 2020.

**Basil Sgourdos, Group Chief Financial Officer**

Group highlights for the period

The complete results and commentary are available at www.prosus.com/investors.
See “Notes” section for an explanation of the numbers.

Revenues increased 23% to US$21.5bn (FY19: US$18.3bn).
Trading profit grew 16% to US$3.8bn.(FY19: US$3.4bn).
Core headline earnings grew 13% to US$3.4bn (FY19: US$3.1bn).
Ecommerce revenue grew 33% to US$4.3bn (FY19: US$3.6bn):
Food Delivery orders grew by 102%, driving revenue growth of 105% to US$0.8bn (FY19: US$0.4bn);
The Classifieds and Payments & Fintech segments remain profitable at their core and continue to grow profits, while investing to drive further growth.
Tencent grew revenues 21% year-on-year*.
Invested US$1.3bn in existing and new businesses.
Solid net cash position of US$4.5bn, and an undrawn US$2.5bn revolving credit facility.
The group is well-positioned to navigate the Covid-19 uncertainty ahead.

*Prosus holds a 31% stake in Tencent.

Basil Sgourdos, Group Chief Financial Officer, said:

“The group has delivered a good set of annual results, with all of our segments making good progress against their financial and strategic objectives. Revenue grew 23% to US$21.5bn, and trading profit grew 16% to US$3.8bn. The Classifieds and Payments & Fintech segments continued to deliver growth, and both are profitable at their core. Our Food Delivery segment almost doubled revenues and is now one of the fastest-growing food delivery businesses globally, reflecting our ability to build scale and strong positions in high-growth markets. We ended the period with a net cash position of US$4.5bn, which positions us well to continue investing in our businesses and pursuing growth opportunities.”

Prosus ersetzt Naspers in den #GLORE50 nach €100 Mrd. Börsengang ... — Prosus’ Portfolio

Bob van Dijk, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

“The past year was a truly transformational twelve months for the group, marked in September by the listing of our international internet assets as Prosus on Euronext Amsterdam. This is an exciting step forward, opening up fresh opportunities to build long-term sustainable value. Throughout the year, we continued to execute our long-term strategy of building leading consumer internet companies. This was reflected in a solid performance driven by revenue growth, notably the Food Delivery segment, and improved profitability in our ecommerce businesses, particularly the Classifieds segment, underpinned by continued growth of Tencent.

In recent months, Covid-19 has had a marked impact on the daily lives of citizens and economies across the world. From the start, we have prioritised the health and well-being of our people, their families, and the communities we serve. We are working hard to protect our businesses for the long term. At both a group and a local company level, we have also provided support to governments and communities to play our part in the response to the pandemic. While the global societal and economic impacts of Covid-19 are likely to persist for some time, we are conﬁdent of our ability to weather the storm. We also expect that group businesses are likely to benefit from a further acceleration of the underlying trend toward online — brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic — to emerge well-placed for long-term growth.”

Koos Bekker, Group Chair, said:

“This was a good year in the evolution of our group. As the world changes, so do we. The fundamentals of several of our businesses look sound. However, during the last quarter the world economy took a massive blow. Its consequences will include certain technologies accelerating, but also some social and political shifts that are hard to predict. We will continue to respond and adapt.”

NOTES on the numbers:

All growth percentages are shown in local currency terms and adjusted for acquisitions and disposals unless otherwise stated.
All amounts are shown on an economic-interest basis (i.e. including a proportionate consolidation of the contribution from associates and joint ventures) unless stated as being presented on a consolidated basis.
All numbers shown are from continuing operations, i.e. excluding MultiChoice Group, which has been presented as a discontinued operation in FY19.

The complete results are available at www.prosus.com/investors

Looking ahead: navigating uncertain times

The fundamentals of the group are strong, and the year ended with good momentum off the back of a solid performance. The group is focused on the long term and expects to benefit from a further acceleration of the underlying trend toward online ecommerce companies brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. We face the challenging period from a position of relative financial strength and with sufficient liquidity to navigate the changing environment, to continue to invest in our businesses to position them well for future recovery, and to continue to seek out new opportunities. We will remain disciplined in our investment approach, deploying capital on growth assets operating in growth industries with an expected return in excess of our cost of capital.

-ends-

About Prosus

Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities. The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, payments and fintech, and food delivery sectors in markets including India, Russia and Brazil. Through its ventures team investments, in areas including edtech and health, Prosus actively seeks new opportunities to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to address big societal needs. Every day, millions of people use the products and services of companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired or built, including Avito, Brainly, BYJU’S, Codecademy, eMAG, Honor, iFood, LazyPay, letgo, Meesho, Movile, OLX, PayU, Red Dot Payments, Remitly, SimilarWeb, SoloLearn, Swiggy, and Udemy.

For more information on our FY2020 year results please contact:
Eoin Ryan
Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +1 347–210–4305
Email: eoin.ryan@prosus.com

Sarah Ryan
Media Relations, International
Mobile: +31 6 297 21038
Email: sarah.ryan@prosus.com

Shamiela Letsoalo
Media Relations, South Africa
Mobile +27 78 802 6310
Email: shamiela.letsoalo@prosus.com

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.

South African Startups Are Invited To Pitch To Naspers Foundry’s $100 Million Fund

October 25, 2019

Good news for South African startups. Naspers Foundry’s R1.4 billion ($100 million) VC fund is accepting pitches, after making its first investment in online cleaning services company SweepSouth.

“We’ll be investing in businesses here in South Africa that have an impact in South Africa. We look for these opportunities all around the country, to the extent that they have South African founders or have a marketplace in South Africa,” Mahanyele-Dabengwa, Naspers Foundry’s new leader who joined Naspers in July as a CEO reporting to Group CEO of Naspers, Bob van Dijk said in an interview.

Here Is All You Need To Know

Under the new round of financing, Naspers Foundry will back companies that align with the internet businesses on which Naspers focuses — such as food, payments or classifieds — and any other digital venture that addresses a societal need.
On financing size, the Foundry will make equity investments in various amounts, primarily from Series A up to Series B, according to Mahanyele-Dabengwa.
However, pre-series funding won’t be on the table, for now, but could be at some point.

“We’ve been talking to our stakeholders…and there really is a need [in the region] for much more earlier stage [investment]. So we are giving thought to that,” she said.

For its VC allocation, Naspers Foundry will make investments over a three-year period.
The Foundry is part of a 1.4 billion rand ($314 million) overall commitment by Naspers to support South Africa’s tech sector.
The $100 million fund Mahanyele-Dabengwa leads could help South Africa surge in Africa’s increasingly competitive tech landscape.
The country was previously an unquestioned leader and outlier on the continent for its tech scene and VC investment. But over the last decade, South Africa has been rivalled by Kenya and Nigeria on venture capital and startup formation.

Read also: Why More South African Startups Have Raised Funds This Year

Anything For Other Non-South African Startups?

Although Naspers Foundry will not back startups outside South Africa, Mahanyele-Dabengwa however noted that its parent — Naspers — can finance ventures anywhere on the continent, if it sees the right opportunity.

[However] Founders from other parts of Africa with startup operations in South Africa can be considered for funding, she clarified.

The South African media group has invested less (and been less successful) in Africa, in contrast to its robust global activities.

One of Naspers’ early Africa investments, Nigerian e-commerce startup Konga, was sold in a distressed acquisition in 2018.

The company recently added around $70 million to its commitment to South African e-commerce site Takealot and made one of the largest acquisitions in Africa this September, buying South Africa’s Webuycars for $94 million.

How South African Startups May Pitch For The Fund

Naspers Foundry is already engaged in outreach screening activity, but does have a rolling application call on its website open to any startup that meets specific criteria.
Heading up review of online investment applications is Minette Havemann, Naspers Foundry’s strategy director.
On her role in recruiting and determining startup investments, Mahanyele-Dabengwa points to her market experience.
She comes to head Naspers Foundry after several finance capital positions, including founding and running Sigma Capital Group, a Johannesburg-based private equity fund. Prior to that, Mahanyele-Dabengwa was CEO of Shanduka Group, an investment holding company formed by South Africa’s current president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
She has experience in the U.S. and U.K., having obtained academic degrees in both countries.
There’s also some precedent in her new role, as Mahanyele-Dabengwa is the first female and first black chief executive in Naspers’ 104-year history.

A Look At Naspers

Naspers is on the top 100 largest global companies list — 85th by its $108 billion market cap, just after Nike — and is one the world’s largest tech investors.
Aside from operating notable internet, video and entertainment platforms, Naspers has made significant investments in Europe, India, Asia and South America.
Naspers was also an early investor in Chinese tech group Tencent, selling $10 billion in shares this year after a $32 million investment in 2001.
The company recently carved out a new holding company, called Prosus NV, to relist a portion of its assets on Amsterdam’s Euronext stock exchange.
In Africa’s tech ecosystem — which only recently surpassed $1 billion annually in VC funding — Naspers Foundry’s $100 million could shift the startup financing lead back toward South Africa.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Africa’s Most Valuable Company Naspers Is Set To Unveil New Startup Investments Before 2019 Ends

October 10, 2019

Naspers Foundry, an investment subsidiary of Africa’s biggest company by money, Naspers appears to be on the edge to concluding deals with some African startups. South Africa’s chief executive of Naspers Foundry Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa has disclosed that Naspers Foundry is set to unveil new startup investments before the end of the year, in a drive to support entrepreneurs in South Africa’s tech sector.

“We are working on a number of transactions that we need to conclude before December,” said Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, adding that a formal announcement would be made soon, giving further details of the deals.

Naspers Foundry is a R1.4bn business start-up funding initiative formed by Naspers, with the funds to be used over three years.

Speaking in Johannesburg, Mahanyele-Dabengwa said the company was looking to create growth potential for entrepreneurs to allow them to scale at global level.

Naspers CEO marks ‘several billion’ for tech investments

Mahanyele-Dabengwa was in July appointed to head the Naspers South Africa business, including Naspers Foundry and Naspers Labs.

“What are we doing is providing equity funding, which is typically very difficult. We are using equity funding to support business, and it is important that we are investing in local entrepreneurs,” she said.

In June, Naspers Foundry announced a R30m investment in startup SweepSouth, a tech start-up which provides cleaning services. Mahanyele-Dabengwa hailed the online service, which was co-founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribicas, as a solution not only applicable in South Africa but also the rest of the world.

Speaking at the event, Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk emphasised the media and e-commerce group’s commitment to South Africa, following the listing of new company Prosus on the Euronext bourse in Amsterdam. Prosus now owns all of Naspers’ international internet assets.

Van Dijk described the move as necessary for growth.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

The Biggest Internet Company In Europe Is Now Owned By Africa ’s Most Valuable Company

September 14, 2019

This is a big shot from Naspers, Africa ’s most valuable company, which in terms of GDP, would be richer than the West African country of Liberia. In its latest move, Naspers has listed its international internet assets on Amsterdam’s stock exchange. By doing so, it has carved out the biggest consumer internet company in Europe.

“There’s this great pent-up demand for great technology and internet companies,” Naspers CFO Basil Sgourdos said. “We’re now the largest — we’re actually three times larger than the next biggest tech company and that will attract lots of interest”.

Here Is All You Need To Know

On the Euronext Stock Exchange, Amsterdam Netherlands, Naspers’ new company is called Prosus. This week, upon listing, it got a valuation of $105 billion. By far, these figures have now made it the largest ever Europe ‘s consumer publicly listed internet company. Far off the tech board on the exchange, overall, Prosus is now the third most valuable company listed on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam.
Each of the company’s shares soared as much as 29% on its first day of trading.
Naspers is smarter anyway; it is only floating 27% of Prosus, holding onto the remaining 73% stakes.
Apart from Prosus, Naspers owns a third of Chinese tech giant Tencent. Its stake in Tencent is valued at $130bn.
Prosus is holding many Naspers’ assets including Naspers’ Tencent stake as as well as investments in Swiggy, the Indian e-commerce startup and Mail.Ru, a major Russian internet platform.
Naspers’ smart international moves include more than doubling its $616 million investment in Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce company, when it sold its 11% stake for $1.6 billion last year.
Prosus will trade on Euronext with “PRX” as its ticker.
Prosus also houses Naspers other inter assets, which include all of its interests in online classifieds, food delivery, payments, etail, travel, education, and social and internet platforms sectors. Apart from Tencent, these include mail.ru, OLX, Avito, letgo, PayU, iFood, Swiggy, DeliveryHero, Udemy, eMAG, and MakeMyTrip.

Why Is Naspers Listing All of These Assets In Amsterdam, Netherlands?

Naspers reasons for listing all of these assets may not be unconnected with its size on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where asset managers were cautious about their exposure to a single share.

Listing on Euronext, Amsterdam will therefore give the internet giant an opportunity for “opening up investment to a broader category of investors,” says CEO Bob van Dijk, while diminishing the valuation gap between Naspers and Tencent.

From A South African Newspaper Publisher To A Global Brand

Naspers’ success stems from a vertical change in strategy. Originally a newspaper publisher, Prosus’ listing comes as part of its long-term strategy to transform the century-old newspaper publisher into “a global consumer internet company.”

The net effect of the Prosus listing will also be felt in South Africa as it trims Naspers’ weighting on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to 15% — down from around 25%. Being listed only in South Africa had limited Naspers’ pool of accessible capital and its dominance on the local stock exchange also constrained local investment managers.

From the pie chart above it is clear that majority of revenue for Naspers comes from Internet services, which contributed 69.34% to NPN’s revenue, second biggest revenue earner was E-commerce with 15.2% or $1.987 billion dollars followed by video entertainment, with 14.1% or $1.834 billion.

In a more strategic move, earlier this year, Naspers appointed Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, 48, as its new chief executive of its South African unit. This appointment makes her the first ever female and first black chief executive of the 104-year old company. Mahanyele-Dabengwa, previously chief executive of Shanduka Group, an investment company founded by Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, will lead Naspers’ drive for major African tech startup wins with a $314 million fund announced last October.

She will also oversee Naspers Labs, a social impact and skills acquisition initiative for South Africa’s unemployed youth, and to Bob van Dijk, group CEO of Naspers.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Africa’s Biggest Company Is Investing Over $30 Million in U.S. Education Platform

July 27, 2019

This is a big shot from Naspers, Africa’s biggest company, which in terms of GDP, would be richer than the West African country of Liberia. Naspers is invading the US disruption market, leading a $30 million investment round in Brainly, a U.S. startup that allows learners to help each other with homework problems in different parts of the world.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The Cape Town-based Naspers has led the latest $30 million investment round in Brainly, a U.S. startup that allows learners to help each other with homework problems in different parts of the world.
The students earn points for the quality of their answers and can enter leadership-boards in different subjects such as history, mathematics, and others.
Naspers Ltd., Africa’s biggest company by market value and soon to be one of Europe’s largest listed technology companies, is investing more of its $10-billion cash-pile in educational platforms.

“At Naspers, we back companies seeking to address big societal needs like education, helping them to achieve global scale,” said Naspers Ventures Chief Executive Officer Larry Illg. “Brainly has the potential to serve the needs of hundreds of millions of students around the world, and has shown strong growth in the U.S. and high growth markets such as India, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil.”

The cash from the current funding round will be used to update the platform and expand its base in the U.S., where it has already managed to make money from the service.
Brainly is also expanding into India, where Naspers also led a $540 million funding round into another educational tech company Byju in December last year. The Brainly platform is growing at around 200% a year. Before the Byju investment, Naspers’s education investments have all been in the U.S. and includes other online learning platforms such as Udemy.
Naspers also led $540 million funding round in India’s Byju

Naspers first invested in Brainly in 2016. Runa Capital and Manta Ray have also invested in the latest funding round.

A $32 million initial investment in Tencent Holdings Ltd. back in 2001 transformed the South African newspaper and Pay TV business into one of the largest technology investors globally.

Its 31% stake in the Chinese game-maker is worth $140 billion, compared with its total market value of $110 billion in Johannesburg.

The valuation gap motivated a decision for Naspers to list its internet businesses on the Euronext in September to close that discount.

Naspers’ Money At A Glance

A look at the financial results for the 6 months ending in September 2018, as revealed by Naspers in its financial statement shows:

Operating Revenue: $3.34billion
Cost of providing services and sale of goods :$1.981billion
Selling, general and administration expenses: $1.284billion
Operating profit: $49million
Share of equity accounted investment (basically Naspers’ share of Tencent profits as rest of equity-accounted results are negligible compared to Tencent’s contribution): $2.098 billion
Taxes: $317 million
Profit for the period: $3.454 billion

Read Also: South Africa ’s ‘Uber of Cleaning Services’ Gets $2 Million Investment From Naspers

Per-share statistics:

Diluted headline earnings per share: $6.32
Dividend yield: 0.24%
Cash per share: $7.32
Net asset value per share: $62
Cash generated from operations per share: $0.54

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

South Africa’s PayU Expands To Singapore

July 6, 2019

Naspers is having a field day of late. First, it just had its first black woman CEO ever in its 104 years of existence. Again, PayU, Naspers’ global fintech firm has just announced it has entered Southeast Asia — Singapore — following its acquisition of Red Dot Payment.

A Look At The New Move

PayU is the Naspers-owned fintech firm that specializes in emerging markets
The deal is to buy a majority stake in Singapore-based Red Dot Payment.
Naspers is best known for its payments and fintech business in markets like India, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe, but now it will enter Southeast Asia, a market with more than 600 million consumers and rapidly rising internet access.
PayU plans to tap that potential through Red Dot, an eight-year-old startup founded by finance veterans that offers services that include a payment gateway, e-commerce storefronts and online invoicing across Southeast Asia. PayU said it has acquired “a majority stake” in the business. It did not specify the exact size but it did disclose that the deal values Red Dot at $65 million.
It isn’t clear exactly how much Red Dot had raised from investors overall — its Series B was $5.2 million but the value of prior rounds was not disclosed — but its backers include Japan’s GMO, Wavemaker, Skype co-founder Toivo Annus and MDI Ventures. The company said, “the majority” of its investors exited through this transaction, but some stakeholders — including CEO Randy Tan — are keeping shares with a view to a later buyout in full.
The deal is important for PayU, according to CEO Laurent Le Moal, who stressed that the company believes in retaining teams and empowering them through acquisitions, rather than simply buying an asset.
“We have to strike the balance between a solid majority [acquisition] and an opportunity for founders,’’ said Maol in an interview.
PayU plans to put “real investment” into the startup, whilst also integrating its services into its “Hub” of services and tech, a stack that is shared with its mesh of global business and was built from its acquisition of Israel’s Zooz.
PayU’s India business alone is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion, but its overall business is hard to value, but more details will emerge of its global business as Naspers lists select entities through an IPO in Europe.
Back to the deal, Tan called it “a marriage made in heaven,” and he also revealed that Red Dot had turned down recent investment and acquisition offers from three other suitors.

“They [PayU] operate globally and have over 300,000 merchants, including Facebook, Google and the kind of clients we aspire to win,” he said.

So why Southeast Asia, and why now?

“We want to build the number one payments company for high-growth markets,” le Moal said. “If you look at what the top 10 economies will be in 2030, half are in Southeast Asia and the rest are growth markets we are already in.”

“We are number one in India, in the biggest markets in Africa, the fastest-growing part of Europe and Latin America, but we have no presence in Southeast Asia,” he continued. “It’s fundamental… you want to go where the consumer growth is.”

That’s supported by a report from Google and Temasek that was issued last year and forecasts that the region’s online spending will more than triple by 2025 to reach $240 billion annually.

The initial focus post-deal is to supercharge the Red Dot business through shared tech, networks, and expertise, but, further down the line, le Moal has a vision of going deeper into fintech and financial services to offer products such as consumer credit, as it has done in India.

Such a product launch isn’t likely to happen for another 12 months at least, the PayU CEO said. Before then, there will be a focus on growing Red Dot’s cross-border trade business and developing synergy with its business in other markets, especially India.

PayU CEO Laurent Le Moal said the company is looking to dominate high-growth markets in Southeast Asia following its acquisition of Red Dot Payment

Le Moal hinted also that PayU has ambitions to be in Japan and Korea, although he conceded that the exact strategy — which could include organic growth — is still to be defined. We can certainly expect to see an uptick from the company in Southeast Asia and the wider Asian continent.
“There will be an acceleration of investment and M&A,” le Moal said. “It’s just the beginning for us as PayU and Naspers in the region.”

Clever Cloud launches GPU-based instances

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

South Africa ’s ‘Uber of Cleaning Services’ Gets $2 Million Investment From Naspers

June 21, 2019

Startups across Africa are having a field day raising funds for their businesses. The latest to join is sweepSouth, South Africa ’s ‘Uber of cleaning services.’

The Deal At A Glance:

The investment is from internet giant Naspers’s Foundry investment fund for South African startups. This is the first investment Naspers Foundry would be making. With a $2 million (R30 million) investment in the gig economy startup SweepSouth, Naspers’ Foundry is making a big bet.

“The investment kicks off Naspers’ commitment to supporting talented and ambitious entrepreneurs in South Africa who are using technology to improve people’s daily lives,” said Naspers chief executive Bob van Dijk.

“We are inspired by entrepreneurs like Aisha and Alen who use innovative technology to improve people’s lives. We know what it takes to scale tech businesses, and the team is looking forward to working together with SweepSouth to help them do that.”

Naspers Foundry is a $98 million (R1.4 billion) fund that was announced last year as part of the South Africa Investment Conference last October, held by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to spur investment into the country

The Business Is To Simply ‘Clean’

Founded in 2013, the Cape Town-based startup is an online cleaning service for domestic cleaners in South Africa’s major urban centers, founded by couple Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, who invested their savings for their children’s university studies in the startup after they struggled to find a cleaner.

The startup is often referred to as the “Uber of cleaning.”

SweepSouth has reached $7 million (R100 million) in revenues in the past year.

“We went from the two of us working around our dining-room table — both of us sitting all day and working on this business plan — to going from a few domestic workers we were interviewing ourselves,” Pandor has said, and “even went from cleaning houses ourselves to having 11,000 domestic workers on the platform”.

Pandor said SweepSouth was “ecstatic” about the investment and aims to use it to expand into other home services and growing beyond the South African market.

“We are proud to have provided employment opportunities for thousands of people, many of whom are single mothers. To be able to bring these opportunities to a new region in South Africa is both rewarding and exciting,” said Pandor, who is the daughter of South African cabinet minister Naledi Pandor, who is minister of international relations and cooperation.

“We see ourselves as an emerging market-focused platform that aims to serve the many professionals who don’t have the time to source the services we provide, whilst also creating meaningful employment opportunities.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.