From Huisgenoot to South Africa’s most valuable company – worth R750 billion

Naspers has transformed from a humble publisher into a global technology giant.

The group’s origins date back to the early twentieth century when a pro-Afrikaner media house was created. Although independent, it was seen as having links with the National Party.

In 1915, it launched its first Afrikaans-language paper, Die Burger, in Cape Town.

Nasionale Pers (which would become Naspers) was created to be the paper’s holding company.

FundingUniverse said that Die Burger’s success led the company to launch its first monthly magazine, De Huisgenoot, in 1916.

The company then expanded into book publishing in both Afrikaans and English.

The company would become the largest publisher in South Africa during the twentieth century.

Due to its support of some of the National Party’s views, the company has since apologised for its role in furthering Apartheid.

The company started heading in a new direction in the 1980s after partnering with pay-TV service M-Net, which would expand into MultiChoice in the 1990s.

Naspers was listed on the JSE in 1994, and Koos Bekker, the founder of M-Net, became CEO of Naspers in 1997.

Despite being the most valued company in South Africa, much of Naspers’s wealth is tied to international tech.

In 2001, Napsers bought a 46.5% stake in Chinese tech company Tencent for $32 million. Tencent is now worth over R8 trillion.

The move turned into a masterstroke, with Tencent now the biggest video game company in the world and the owner of WeChat.

Today

In South Africa, Naspers is a major player in the tech space, as it owns Takealot, Mr Food, AutoTrader, Property24, PayU and formerly Superbalist.

However, it operates in the publishing space as it owns Media24, which owns News24 and several other digital and print publications.

Naspers has also gone international with its global interest investment business unit Prosus, which includes its reduced 30% stake in Tencent, listing on Euronext Amsterdam in 2019.

Naspers is the majority owner of Prosus, while Prosus owns 49% of Naspers as per a cross-ownership structure.

“Through Prosus, the group operates and invests globally in markets with long-term growth potential, building leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities,” said Naspers.

As of 18 October, Naspers alone had a market cap of R750 billion, while Prosus, listed in Holland, has a market cap of roughly 98 billion euros (R1.8 trillion.)

Future Prospects

The group’s financial performance has been mixed recently, especially in South Africa, but there are signs of life.

Takealot recorded a massive trading loss of R253 million for the year ended 31 March 2024.

However, the group recently announced that Takealot.com and Mr D are profitable, with only the now-sold Superbalist causing the overall Takealot Group to lose money.

Superbalists faced additional challenges with Shein’s entry into the market.

Takealot thus sold it to a South African consortium of retail and private equity investors led by Blank Canvas Capital in early September.

The Naspers Group is now under new management following the appointment of new CEO Federico Bloisi.

Bloisi hails from Brazil and turned a 20-person start-up, iFood, into one of Latin America’s leading food delivery companies.

Bloisi said that identifying new technologies, such as AI, is a priority for the group.

“I believe we are in an amazing moment where technology disruption can change the lives of billions of people for the better. A company like Prosus must play an important role in identifying new technologies, such as AI, that impact the world and specifically emerging markets,” said Bloisi upon his appointment.

“Our focus on innovation and discipline, combined with our outstanding people, knowledge, and culture, is a recipe for better experiences for our customers, opportunities for employees and better results for our shareholders long into the future.”

Naspers is also looking for a new CFO after Basil Sgourdos announced his retirement from the group after 29 years of service.

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