Bob van Dijk, CEO of e-commerce group Naspers, poses for a photo in front of the company’s logo after holding a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko acquire licensing rights
JOHANNESBURG/AMSTERDAM, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Bob van Dijk has resigned as longtime CEO of Dutch technology investor Prosus (PRX.AS) and its South African parent Naspers, the head of mergers and acquisitions Ervin Tu occupying both positions. provisional basis.
The companies, whose main asset is Prosus’ 26% stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent (0700.HK) worth about $100 billion, did not give a reason for the departure by Van Dijk. But this coincides with a restructuring of the Naspers/Prosus relationship, with Prosus no longer holding shares in Naspers.
Tu, former director of SoftBank’s Vision Fund (9434.T), takes over Prosus’ investments in consumer internet businesses ranging from food delivery and payments to online marketplaces and educational software. Analysts believe he is the most likely candidate to permanently succeed Van Dijk.
At 0910 GMT, Prosus shares were down 0.9% in Amsterdam, while Naspers shares were down 1.5% in Johannesburg. Tencent shares closed 1.6% lower in China.
In a call with investors, Naspers Chairman Koos Bekker stressed that the companies have no plans to divest from Tencent, which he called “one of the best technology companies in the world.” world”.
A source close to the companies said Van Dijk’s departure came at a natural time after almost a decade at the helm of Naspers, almost double the time most CEOs spend at FTSE companies 100.
Van Dijk oversaw Prosus’ IPO in 2019 and the company’s shares have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its shares have fallen alongside tech valuations during the post-pandemic crisis, and Van Dijk has struggled to reduce the discount in the value of Prosus and Naspers relative to Tencent.
Van Dijk, who has led Naspers since 2014 and Prosus since 2019, has agreed to remain a consultant until September 30, 2024, the companies said in a statement.
Naspers owns 43% of Prosus and holds 72% of the voting rights.
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Tu said Prosus was working on “multiple situations” to unlock value, including possibly seeking stock market listings for some investments.
“A number of companies will be listed. And we expect they will be well received by the markets,” he told Reuters in an interview.
But he warned that shareholders would have to wait.
“These kinds of situations don’t happen where you snap your fingers and suddenly something happens, it takes time,” he said.
He said Prosus would continue to carry out share buybacks to close the valuation gap between Naspers/Prosus and Tencent.
Reporting by Tannur Anders and Promit Mukherjee in Johannesburg, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Radhika Anilkumar in Bangalore; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
