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☆ Prosus cuts India's Byju's valuation to under $3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Tech investor Prosus NV (PRX.AS) said on Wednesday it was valuing Indian education firm Byju's at under $3 billion, 86% less than its peak valuation of $22 billion last year, after the company struggled with governance and cash-flow problems. The disclosure, made by interim CEO Ervin Tu during Prosus earnings call, is the latest cut to Byju's valuation after several executives and board members quit and it delayed filing its 2021/22 financial results by a year. Over the past year, shareholders including Prosus and Blackrock have successively cut Byju's valuation to $11 billion in March, $8 billion in May and $5 billion in June. It has delayed publishing its financial results, prompting auditor Deloitte and three board members quit in June. Byju's filed the delayed but incomplete financial results earlier this month, and is looking to sell off entire business lines to raise cash.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ervin Tu, Prosus, Byju's, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Tech, Prosus NV, Prosus, Blackrock, Atlantic, Deloitte, Thomson Locations: Rights MUMBAI, Silver

☆ Prosus reports $2 bln in core earnings, sees e-commerce profitability earlier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsAMSTERDAM, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Prosus NV (PRX.AS), a large technology investor, said on Wednesday its core headline earnings increased 118% in the first half of 2024, citing improved profitability in its stable of e-commerce investments. Core headline earnings for the half year ended on Sept. 30 were $2.0 billion, from $1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, in line with a Nov. 20 trading statement. Core headlines earnings is a nonstandard measure the company says best reflects its group operating performance. It includes the massive stake Prosus owns in China's Tencent (0700.HK), which the company said has been sold down from 26.2% to 25% to fund a rolling share buyback program. Prosus says share buybacks benefit shareholders because the Tencent stake, now worth $98 billion, is worth about 30% more than Prosus itself.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Prosus, Tencent, Toby Sterling, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Prosus, HK, Thomson

☆ Naspers, Prosus CEO Bob van Dijk steps down
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Dutch-listed technology investor Prosus NV and its South African parent Naspers said on Monday Bob van Dijk has stepped down as chief executive officer from both companies. Van Dijk, who has led Naspers since 2014 and Prosus since 2019, has agreed to remain as a consultant until Sept. 30, 2024, the companies said in a statement. Ervin Tu will assume the role of interim chief executive of both companies. "The group's strategic goals remain unchanged and it is on target to deliver on its commitments," the global consumer internet companies said in a statement.

Persons: Naspers, Bob van Dijk, Van Dijk, Ervin Tu Organizations: Prosus NV Locations: Prosus

☆ Naspers & Prosus CEO steps down, M&A chief Ervin Tu is successor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bob van Dijk, CEO of e-commerce group Naspers, poses for a photograph in front of the company logo after holding a media briefing in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 9, 2019. The companies named investment chief Ervin Tu, a previous VisionBank manager and Goldman Sachs technology banker, as interim CEO. However it coincides with the unwinding Monday of a cross-structure between Prosus and Naspers. Van Dijk oversaw Prosus's 2019 IPO and the company's stock boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However he struggled to close a valuation gap between Prosus, Naspers and the value of their biggest asset: Chinese software giant Tencent(0700.HK) .

Persons: Bob van Dijk, Siphiwe, Ervin Tu, Goldman Sachs, Naspers, Van Dijk's, van Dijk, Van Dijk, Prosus, Tannur Anders, Toby Sterling, Radhika Anilkumar, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Stephen Coates, Michael Perry, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Prosus NV, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, HK, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Prosus, Tencent, Russia, Ukraine, Amsterdam, Bengaluru

☆ Byju's business head resigns amid reorganisation at Indian startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man walks past an advertising hoarding of Byju's, an Education Technology company and one of India's biggest startup, outside one of its branch in New Delhi, India, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Byju's Chief Business Officer, Prathyusha Agarwal, and two other senior executives have resigned as the struggling Indian ed-tech startup restructures its business and operations, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday. Two other business heads - Himanshu Bajaj and Mukut Deepak - have also left, the company, once India's most valuable startup, said. Byju's has let go of thousands of employees this year as it grapples with multiple legal and financial woes. Reuters has reported that Byju's will file 2022 audited earnings by September and 2023 results by December.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Prathyusha Agarwal, Agarwal, Himanshu Bajaj, Mukut Deepak, BYJU'S, Moneycontrol, Byju's, Mohandas Pai, Rajnish Kumar, Pranav Kiran, Navamya Ganesh, Nivedita Organizations: Education Technology, REUTERS, Rights, Byju's, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Prosus NV, Deloitte, Reuters, State Bank of India, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Bengaluru

☆ Dutch online marketplace OLX contributing to EU antitrust probe into Meta
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, July 21 (Reuters) - Dutch online marketplace OLX is helping EU antitrust enforcers in their investigation into Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O), the Naspers unit said on Friday. Meta, which contested the charges at a closed hearing held by the EU competition enforcer last week, has said the EU's case is without foundation. OLX said it took part in the hearing "to contribute to their (EU) investigation about Meta antitrust practices". OLX is owned by Dutch technology investor Prosus NV (PRX.AS), a subsidiary of South African technology investor Naspers (NPNJn.J). Norwegian media group Schibsted (SCHA.OL) also participated in the EU hearing.

Persons: OLX, Naspers, Foo Yun Chee, Louise Heavens Organizations: Facebook, Meta, European, Prosus NV, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, EU, Dutch, African, Norwegian

The hectic pace of activity comes after private credit funds targeting Asia jumped 76% last year to a record $11.2 billion, driven by both regional and India-dedicated strategies, according to Global Private Capital Association. As large global sponsors continue to invest into multi-billion dollar Asia-focused credit funds such as Apollo, Blackstone and KKR, the Asian private credit industry is set for further boom, Robert Wright, partner in law firm Baker McKenzie, said. The string of new private credit funds come against the backdrop of startups facing the threat of having down rounds. Nevertheless, alternative financing such as private credit does not come cheap, industry experts warned. Private credit firms usually arrange loans, with assets secured, on a floating rate basis.

Persons: GPCA, Singapore's SeaTown, Europe's 21yield, Nicholas Mairone, Robert Wright, Baker McKenzie, SeaTown, Rakshat Kapoor, Camille Krejci, Parthiv Rishi, Sidley Austin, Siew Kam Boon, Yantoultra Ngui, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Asia, SINGAPORE, Global Private Capital Association . Industry, Silicon Valley Bank, Blackstone, KKR, Reuters Graphics, Bain Capital, India's, Mahindra Bank, Hong Kong's ADM, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Reuters, Prosus NV, Thomson Locations: Asia, India, Singapore, United States, North America, Silicon, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong

☆ Prosus slashes India's Byju's valuation to $5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 27 (Reuters) - Dutch-listed technology investor Prosus NV (PRX.AS) has slashed the valuation of troubled Indian edtech startup Byju's to $5.1 billion according to its annual report, a fall of more than 75% from the startup's $22 billion valuation last year. Byju's told investors it will file 2022 audited earnings by September and 2023 results by December, Reuters reported. Earlier this year, Blackrock, too, had cut Byju's valuation to $8.3 billion. India's Employee Provident Fund Organisation on Tuesday observed a shortfall in payments from Byju's, Reuters reported. Byju's deposited 1.23 billion rupees ($15.01 million) after the EPFO asked it to.

Persons: Prosus, Byju's, Manvi, Sriram, Pooja Desai Organizations: Prosus NV, Atlantic, BlackRock, Deloitte, Reuters, Blackrock, India's, Provident Fund, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Byju's, U.S, Blackrock, Manvi Pant, Bengaluru, Mumbai

☆ India's Byju's seeks to raise $1 bln to stave off investor revolt - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - Indian edtech startup Byju's is in advanced talks with potential new shareholders to raise $1 billion in funding as it attempts to sidestep a revolt by some investors, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify if existing shareholders in Byju's have that option. It was not clear if founder Byju Raveendran will ultimately secure a capital influx, the sources, who asked not to be named as the information isn't public, told Bloomberg News. Byju's and its lenders are involved in legal cases in the United States over the restructuring of the loan. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chan, Byju Raveendran, Byju's, Mrinmay Dey, Varun, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Bloomberg, Prosus NV, Zuckerberg, Deloitte, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: Byju's, United States, Bengaluru

Alibaba, one of the most valuable assets in SoftBank's portfolio, tumbled as much as 5.2% in Hong Kong and closed down about 2%. On Wednesday, the FT said forward sales based on filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed SoftBank's Alibaba stake would eventually fall to 3.8% from almost 15%. The Japanese group, led by billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, has sold about $7.2 billion worth of Alibaba shares this year through prepaid forward contracts, the newspaper said. "It is well within the realms of expectations that the proportion of Chinese shares among its total investment will shrink further." In New York, Alibaba's shares were up 3% as analysts noted that the stake sale was more due to SoftBank's circumstances.

TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) has moved to sell almost all of its remaining shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), , the Financial Times reported, sending the Chinese e-commerce major's stock tumbling. Alibaba, one of the most valuable assets in SoftBank's portfolio, tumbled as much as 5.2% in Hong Kong after the report before paring the loss to 2.8%. SoftBank has been seeking ways to monetise its stake in Alibaba, which the Japanese conglomerate bought into more than two decades ago with just $20 million spending. On Wednesday, the FT said forward sales based on filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed SoftBank's Alibaba stake would eventually fall to 3.8% from almost 15%. The Japanese group, led by billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, has sold about $7.2 billion worth of Alibaba shares this year through prepaid forward contracts, the newspaper said.

☆ Tech stocks lead losses in Europe on rate jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies STOXX 600 down 0.6%Jan 30 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Monday amid a rout across the board as caution crept in ahead of a slew of central bank policy meetings later this week, with shares of rate-sensitive stocks like technology among the major drags. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was down 0.6% at 0818 GMT. Europe's technology index (.SX8P), led by losses in Prosus NV (PRX.AS) and ASML Holding NV (ASML.AS), was the top decliner among sectors - down 2.1%. German renewable firm PNE AG (PNEGn.DE) slid 15.3% after Morgan Stanley's (MS.N) infrastructure investment arm informed PNE AG's board that it is no longer pursuing talks with potential buyers of Photon's PNE stake. Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall Street says Europe's a better bet than the U.S. right now — and names its top stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

European stocks are are having a good year so far. While the underperformance has been marginal, the outlook for U.S. stocks is decidedly more muted — Wall Street is still wary of a recession. European stocks are therefore worth a look in the near term, according to Bernstein, which expects more upside for them. Stock picks One of Bernstein's top plays is low leverage stocks, which the bank defines as stocks with a low net debt to equity ratio. Bank of America has a number of European picks with exposure to higher Chinese consumer spending and improving overall demand in light of China's reopening.

☆ Prosus, Naspers cutting 30% of jobs at corporate offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationAMSTERDAM, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Prosus NV (PRX.AS) and its South African parent Naspers (NPNJn.J) are cutting up to 30% of jobs at their corporate offices, the Dutch technology investor said. "We are adapting to a changing macro environment and have been working for some time to strengthen our cost structures," a Prosus spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. Prosus and Naspers have around 15 corporate offices around the world, with the largest ones in Johannesburg and Amsterdam. There is no figure available for the number employed at corporate offices located around the globe, a spokesperson said. There was no schedule for the cuts to the corporate offices.

☆ Broken Deal Triggered Currency Losses for Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Ben Dummett | Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Barclays PLC, Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc. lost money on currency-hedging products they sold to a client for an acquisition that fell through, the latest example of the damage spread during the worst stretch for deal making in years. Prosus NV, best known as the largest investor in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., agreed in August 2021 to acquire India’s BillDesk, an online payments platform, for 345 billion rupees, equivalent to about $4.7 billion at the time. To protect the price against swings in the rupee, Prosus bought derivative contracts from the banks that allowed it to lock in the exchange rate ahead of the deal’s closure. Prosus had the flexibility to get rid of the hedge for no fee if the deal didn’t close.

☆ Prosus and Naspers deny report they are in talks to sell Tencent stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Prosus holds a 28% stake in Tencent worth $70 billion at current prices. It has said it intends to sell the stake down gradually to fund a share repurchase program. "The Naspers Board and Prosus Board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent's long term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers and their respective shareholders," they said in a statement. Tencent shares rose sharply on Friday, gaining 10% to $226.2 HKD. Naspers shares, which usually follow movements in Tencent, rose 8.7% in Johannesburg.

☆ Prosus & Naspers deny report they are in talks to sell Tencent stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Aly SongAMSTERDAM, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Technology investment firm Prosus NV (PRX.AS) and its South African parent Naspers (NPNJn.J) on Tuesday rejected as "untrue" a report that they are in talks to sell their large stake in Chinese software and gaming giant Tencent (0700.HK). In a pre-market statement, Amsterdam-based Prosus said an article in Asian Tech Press citing unnamed sources saying that Naspers was in talks with a group of investors led by CITIC of China to sell its entire Tencent stake was "speculative and untrue". Prosus holds a 28% stake in Tencent worth $70 billion at current prices. It has said it intends to sell the stake down gradually to fund a share repurchase program. "The Naspers Board and Prosus Board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent's long term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers and their respective shareholders," they said in a statement.

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