The money will be used to fund acquisitions of internet and ecommerce companies, including extending its stake in Russian-based classifieds portal, Avito from 17.4% to 67.9%, techloy.com reports, citing various sources.
Naspers’ CEO, Bob van Dijk said, “The capital raising will finance the Avito acquisition as well as provide us with the financial flexibility to continue to deliver on our strategy of investing in high-growth Internet and ecommerce companies to continue to drive returns for our shareholders., the source cites.
Naspers also revealed that it has received authorisation for the Avito deal from South African Reserve Bank and the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. Recently, Naspers sold its stake in Czech-based online retailer, Netretail and sold Heureka, a Czech-based online comparison platform as part of an ongoing strategy to optimise its group structure.
Naspers, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Cape Town, has a portfolio that cuts across various industry and is currently Africa’s biggest company by market value.
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