By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Shares of Tencent Holdings (OTC:TCEHY) slumped in Wednesday’s premarket following a disclosure by Prosus (OTC:PROSF) that it will cut its stake in the Chinese tech giant to 28.9% from 30.9%.
Based on Tencent's closing price on Wednesday, the share sale would have been worth $15.53 billion but given the near 9% fall today, the eventual proceeds could clearly be less.
The Dutch conglomerate, a subsidiary of South Africa's Naspers, said it intends to sell up to 191.9 million shares in Tencent to global institutional investors. Naspers was one of the earliest investors in Tencent.
“The proceeds of the sale will increase our financial flexibility, enabling us to invest in the significant growth potential we see across the group, as well as in our own stock,” CEO Bob van Dijk said in a statement.
Prosus said it was committed to not reducing its stake further for three years.