In a recent development, Naspers, South Africa’s most valuable company has announced its intention to list NewCo, a new global consumer internet group, on Euronext Amsterdam. Additionally, NewCo will also have a secondary, inward listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa.
Name for NewCo will be announced soon!
The company says the official name for NewCo will be announced in coming months. For the uninitiated, ‘Newco’ is a generic name for the proposed corporate spin-off or subsidiary companies before they are assigned a final name.
Unique opportunity for global internet investors.
NewCo will comprise all of Naspers’ internet interests outside of South Africa including its companies and investments in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments, etail, travel, education, and social and internet platforms sectors. Moreover, the company is expected to be approximately 75% owned by Naspers and have a free float of approximately 25%.
Constitutes almost 25% of the JSE SWIX index
The proposed transaction is currently expected to be implemented no earlier than the second half of 2019. Notably, Naspers now constitutes almost 25% of the JSE SWIX index, compared to 5% just 5 years ago.
Bob van Dijk, Naspers Chief Executive Officer, said
“Forming and listing a new, global consumer internet group on Euronext Amsterdam is a significant step for Naspers. It will provide a strong platform to attract incremental investor capital, which is well-aligned to our growth goals. The listing will present an appealing new opportunity for international tech investors to have access to our unique portfolio of international internet assets.”
A while ago, Naspers took some effort in increasing the capacity of Naspers’ ADR programme, trimming its stake in Tencent, exiting several businesses, driving growth across its core internet businesses and turning its online classifieds business and several of its other early-stage investments to profitability.
Basil Sgourdos, Naspers’ Chief Financial Officer, said:
“After a careful and comprehensive evaluation of the merits of strategic options available to the group, the listing on Euronext Amsterdam proved to be the most promising for our future growth plans and addressing the market dynamics we wish to tackle.”
Provide flexibility to shareholders.
NewCo’s free float is expected to be created by Naspers through a capitalisation issue of NewCo shares to Naspers shareholders. This enables shareholders to choose to receive more shares in Naspers instead of shares in NewCo, subject to certain limits. This is intended to provide flexibility to shareholders.
Founded in 1915, Naspers is a global internet and entertainment group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Naspers has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (NPN.SJ) and a secondary listing on the A2X Exchange (NPN.AJ) in South Africa, and has an ADR listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: NPSN).
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