Big win for the most valuable company in South Africa

The Dutch-based Prosus has a cross-ownership structure with Naspers and holds the group’s international assets.

With a market cap of R920 billion, Naspers is the most valuable company in South Africa. Much of this is linked to the company’s stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent.

EU fears over potential market distortions from the Just Eat Takeaway.com deal were allayed by a pledge from Prosus to cut its holding in Delivery Hero SE to an unspecified “very low percentage within 12 months.”

EU watchdogs were also won over by Prosus’ promise not to exercise voting rights associated with its remaining limited shareholding in Delivery Hero and to avoid putting forward any representatives for its board. 

The decision “sends a clear warning to an industry with recent antitrust issues: we won’t tolerate any anticompetitive behaviour that may harm consumers,” Teresa Ribera, the EU’s competition commissioner, said.

Prosus Chief Executive Officer Fabricio Bloisi said in a statement that the deal paves the way to “build a true European tech champion and lead the next chapter in food delivery innovation.”

Prosus shares rose 0.3% at 4:28 p.m. in Amsterdam as its peers advanced. Delivery Hero shares fell as much as 5.6% in Frankfurt before paring the drop to 2.4%.

The acquisition of Just Eat would make Prosus the world’s fourth-largest food delivery group, behind Uber Technologies Inc., DoorDash Inc., and China’s Meituan, according to analysts. 

Just Eat would bolster Prosus’ food delivery portfolio, which includes holdings in platforms across South America, India, Southeast Asia and Mr.D in South Africa. 

After booming during the pandemic, the industry has faced intense price competition, spurring a wave of consolidation.

Prosus holds several food delivery investments globally, including full control of Brazil’s iFood, its stake in Berlin-based Delivery Hero, and a 25% share in India’s Swiggy. 

Just Eat, also based in Amsterdam, operates in 17 markets including the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Issued on SABC Sport by Bloomberg | https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/834613/big-win-for-the-most-valuable-company-in-south-africa/