Naspers, Africa’s biggest company by market value, is set to approach American and British investors to discuss a bond issue in an effort to continue the expansion of their online businesses and interests through more acquisitions.
Cape Town-based Naspers is a global internet and entertainment group that has built a reputation as one of the largest technology investors in the world.
It owns stakes in numerous international companies including Multichoice, ShowMax, Mail.ru, Flipkart, PayU, Konga, Takealot.com, OLX and Chinese investment holding company Tencent, giving Naspers a market value of around $90 billion.
The proceeds from the proposed bond will be used to refinance some of the company’s current debt, while allowing Naspers to pursue future growth opportunities, according to Fin24.
Naspers chief executive officer Bob van Dijk revealed that the company spends in the region of $500 million per year on mergers and acquisitions, looking for opportunities that fit their aim of investing in classifieds, e-commerce, and online payment solutions.
“We are focusing on building online businesses and bringing them to scale,” Van Dijk said, according to TechCentral.
“We are quite excited about our growth in our Letgo business in the US. Since we consolidated with Wallapop, we have become the leader in the number of daily-active users in the mobile app space,” he said.
“Sub-Saharan Africa has had a tough few years and our business there also had many challenges,” the CEO added. “So far it has turned out to be a viable business, whether that will change in a number of years we will have to see.”
A 33% stake in Chinese Internet company Tencent Holdings ensured positive growth for Naspers this year thus far, with the company announcing good results for the year to March 2017, increasing revenue by 19 percent year-on-year to $14.6 billion, according to BusinessTech.
Revenue in the internet segment, which now accounts for 73 percent of group revenues, was up 29 percent, which explains the company’s push to increase investment opportunities in the sector.
Naspers recently invested around $433 million for a minority stake in Germany-based Delivery Hero, the leading global online food ordering and delivery marketplace, according to MoneyWeb.
