Naspers and its Amsterdam-based subsidiary have announced an update on their convoluted open-ended repurchase programme, through which they aim to unlock 'immediate value' for shareholders.

Shares in Naspers and Prosus surged by almost 5% on Wednesday after the companies announced an update on their open-ended repurchase programme, through which they are offloading Tencent shares.

The programme, announced on 27 June 2021, is aimed at "efficiently" unlocking immediate value for shareholders and increasing NAV [net asset value] per share over time.

In essence, the buyback programme allows Naspers-Prosus to fund other businesses (mostly startups, although the group said it has adapted to the new market realities by setting higher targets for M&A returns) around the world through dividends from Tencent, which suffered declining revenue for two consecutive quarters last year.

Prosus currently has a 26.9% stake in Tencent, down from 28.8% (worth about $128-billion) in June 2022.

'Committed' to Tencent

On 23 November, during the diversified media and technology group's interim results announcement, CEO Bob van Dijk said they had invested heavily in some of their divisions and offloaded risky stakes in others, but were "absolutely committed" to remaining a very large shareholder in Tencent for a long time to come ....