Tencent's Largest Shareholder Prosus Sells 2% Stake

Maximum Sale Amount of 95.5 Billion Yuan, Aimed at Liquidity and Growth Company Investment

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese economic media Caixin reported on the 8th that Prosus, the largest shareholder of Tencent, plans to secure up to 95.5 billion yuan (approximately 16.2857 trillion KRW) by selling part of its Tencent shares.

The shares to be sold this time amount to 2% (192 million shares). Caixin stated that Prosus's stake in Tencent will decrease from 30.9% to 28.9%.

Photo by Baidu Capture

Caixin reported that Prosus is setting the sale price at a discount of 575 to 595 Hong Kong dollars, compared to the previous day's closing price of 629.50 Hong Kong dollars.

Caixin explained that the proceeds from the stock sale are for liquidity purposes, and part of the sale amount will be invested in growth companies.

Caixin added, citing Prosus's semi-annual report, that the company's surplus cash is only 400 million dollars, indicating unstable cash flow conditions.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Prosus is a subsidiary of Naspers, a media and internet company based in South Africa. Naspers holds a 75% stake in Prosus.

Caixin reported that Prosus stated there will be no additional Tencent stock sales for the next three years.

Meanwhile, according to Tencent's 2020 annual report recently released, Tencent's annual revenue was 482.064 billion yuan, a 27.8% increase compared to the previous year. Net profit was 159.847 billion yuan, a 71.3% increase. Tencent's stock price rose to 775.5 Hong Kong dollars at the end of January but has fallen nearly 20% in the past two months.