The South African technology and media group Naspers, known for its hugely successful investments, is already reaping the benefits of its latest venture: last Wednesday, 11, the company headed by Bob van Dijk listed the shares of its subsidiary Prosus in Amsterdam’s stock exchange, Euronext. Almost a week later, at the close of yesterday’s trading session, Prosus ended the day valued at € 112.6 billion (or $ 124.7 billion).
A value that keeps Prosus as the biggest Internet company in Europe, given that the company debuted with a valuation of € 123 billion in the Dutch stock market. It sets its sights on business opportunities that have technology as their core, especially those that engage with food delivery, payments, marketplaces, and social platforms. Among its top investments are players such as the marketplace OLX, the delivery apps iFood and Delivery Hero, and the investment firm Tencent.
In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico, Bob van Dijk, chairman of both companies, spoke about Prosus’ expansion plans and explained that everything that is good for the new business, is also good for its biggest shareholder Naspers, which has a 74% stake in the new venture. Regarding new investments, in addition to the other segments in which it already operates, the executive mentioned the sector of edtechs as one of its key targets: Brainly, Udemy, and SoloLearn are among some of the new investments in the area made by the company. “The idea is to get into businesses that are at very early stages,” said van Dijk to the newspaper.
Naspers, which is known for the most successful venture capital investment in history – in 2000, the company transformed a $ 32 million investment in the then Chinese startup Tencent into profits of more than $ 130 billion – has been operating in Brazil since 2009. The media giant’s portfolio includes investments in companies such as Movile, which owns players like iFood, PlayKids and Maplink. For van Dijk, the country will continue to be one of the most attractive markets for Prosus as well. “It’s a big, attractive country that has had ups and downs and will continue to have, but we have a 10-year commitment,” he concluded.
