Naspers plans to sell about 22 million shares in Prosus to increase the free float of its European-listed Internet spin-off.
The sale presents about 1.4% of issued Prosus N ordinary shares and is expected to increase the Prosus free float from 26.2% to 27.5%.
Naspers will hold 72.5% of Prosus’s equity following the sale, assuming all the shares offered are placed.
Naspers listed its international Internet assets, including its 31.2% stake in China’s Tencent, in September 2019 on the Euronext Amsterdam. Prosus also has a secondary, inward listing on the JSE.
“In the months following the admission, Naspers has seen significant interest in Prosus from new investors, in particular European institutions and global technology investors,” Naspers said in a statement to shareholders on Wednesday.
Shareholder base
“The placing will offer an opportunity to the broad investment community to get exposure to the largest listed European consumer Internet stock by asset value and thereby continue to broaden Prosus’s shareholder base.”
All proceeds from the sale will be received by Naspers, net of expenses and costs, and will be repatriated to South Africa as required by the South African Reserve Bank.
“Naspers intends to use these net proceeds over time to return capital to Naspers shareholders in the form of a share repurchase programme.” — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media
