Long-Haul Rider

How a single $32 million bet transformed Naspers from a traditional newspaper business in South Africa, and how the India portfolio ties in with its global tech investments

- Varsha Meghani

On a sunny September morning in Amsterdam, Naspers’s executives huddled together on the trading floor of the Euronext exchange. Seconds later, they broke into a rapturous chant: “Ten, nine, eight, seven…” On the count of one, Bob van Dijk, chief executive of the South African media and internet conglomerate, struck the opening gong. A burst of applause followed.

Prosus, a spin-off of Naspers’s global empire of internet assets, including a prized 31 percent stake in Chinese gaming and WeChat giant Tencent, marked its debut. And stock market investors were charmed.

They traded the stock at €76, well above its reference price of €58. Prosus’s value soared to €125 billion or $138 billion on the day, making it the largest company to trade on the Euronext after Royal Dutch Shell (€209 billion) and Unilever (€200 billion). At the time of going to press, it's stock price was €67.

With classified ad businesses, payment systems and food delivery companies in its portfolio, including Indian unicorns Swiggy and Byju’s, Prosus—forward, in Latin—is Europe’s largest consumer internet company by asset value. “It’s been a busy and exciting time for us,” says van Dijk over a call from Amsterdam, where he is based. The listing, he says, is an attempt to “broaden and deepen” the investor base—Naspers retains three-quarters of Prosus—and further growth.