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Prosus and Naspers deny report they are in talks to sell Tencent stake
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Technology investment firm Prosus NV and its South African parent Naspers on Tuesday rejected as “untrue” a report that they are in talks to sell their large stake in Chinese software and gaming giant Tencent.
In a pre-market statement, Amsterdam-based Prosus said an article in Asian Tech Press citing unnamed sources saying that Naspers was in talks with a group of investors led by state-backed CITIC of China to sell its entire Tencent stake was “speculative and untrue”.
Prosus holds a 28% stake in Tencent worth $70 billion at current prices. It has said it intends to sell the stake down gradually to fund a share repurchase program.
“The Naspers Board and Prosus Board 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, Naspers and their respective shareholders,” they said in a statement.
Tencent shares rose sharply on Friday, gaining 10% to $226.2 HKD. Naspers shares, which usually follow movements in Tencent, rose 8.7% in Johannesburg. The Amsterdam exchange was not yet open.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)
Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, headquartered in Amsterdam. It is a subsidiary of Naspers and holds significant stakes in various technology companies, including Tencent.
Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company with subsidiaries in various internet-related services and products, entertainment, AI, and technology. It is one of the world's largest gaming and social media companies.
A share repurchase program is a corporate strategy where a company buys back its own shares from the marketplace. This can help increase the value of remaining shares and improve financial metrics.
A stake in a company refers to the ownership interest that an individual or entity holds in that company, typically represented by shares. It indicates the proportion of the company owned.
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