Prosus, the internet investment arm of South African multinational media group Naspers, sold around 13 million shares of TENCENT (00700) during the first quarter of this year. Based on TENCENT's average closing price of HK$560.16 for the quarter, the divestment generated proceeds of approximately HK$7.28 billion. Using the closing price of HK$484 at the end of March, the transaction value would be around HK$6.29 billion. According to official data, Prosus still held about 2.067 billion TENCENT shares as of April 8.
It is understood that Prosus initiated an open-ended reduction of its TENCENT stake as early as 2022, aiming to raise funds for repurchasing its own shares and narrowing the discount of its share price to net asset value per share. However, reports suggest that Prosus began altering its stance regarding TENCENT starting in the second half of 2025. Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi informed investors in late November last year that the funding for the open-ended buyback program would not solely come from selling TENCENT shares but also from divesting underperforming investments.
Notably, TENCENT has recently intensified its share buyback efforts. The company announced on April 8 that it spent approximately HK$1 billion to repurchase 1.979 million shares on that date. Since March 26, TENCENT has conducted buybacks for seven consecutive trading days, repurchasing a total of 5.642 million shares with a cumulative value of HK$2.799 billion.
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