{"id":795890,"date":"2024-10-19T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=795890"},"modified":"2025-03-18T12:44:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T10:44:21","slug":"from-huisgenoot-to-south-africas-most-valuable-company-worth-r735-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/795890\/from-huisgenoot-to-south-africas-most-valuable-company-worth-r735-billion\/","title":{"rendered":"From Huisgenoot to South Africa&#8217;s most valuable company &#8211; worth R750 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Naspers has transformed from a humble publisher into a global technology giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group&#8217;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1915, it launched its first Afrikaans-language paper,&nbsp;Die Burger,&nbsp;in Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nasionale Pers (which would become Naspers) was created to be the paper&#8217;s holding company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fundinguniverse.com\/company-histories\/naspers-ltd-history\/\">FundingUniverse<\/a> said that Die Burger&#8217;s success led the company to launch its first monthly magazine, De Huisgenoot, in 1916.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company then expanded into book publishing in both Afrikaans and English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company would become the largest publisher in South Africa during the twentieth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to its support of some of the National Party&#8217;s views, the company has since apologised for its role in furthering Apartheid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Naspers was listed on the JSE in 1994, and Koos Bekker, the founder of M-Net, became CEO of Naspers in 1997. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being the most valued company in South Africa, much of Naspers&#8217;s wealth is tied to international tech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2001, Napsers bought a 46.5% stake in Chinese tech company Tencent for $32 million. Tencent is now worth over R8 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move turned into a masterstroke, with Tencent now the biggest video game company in the world and the owner of WeChat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"dJ1cxI8zNg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/795221\/south-africa-to-become-president-of-international-group-later-this-year-includes-the-usa-china-eu-and-more\/\">South Africa to become President of international group later this year &#8211;  includes the USA, China, EU and more<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;South Africa to become President of international group later this year &#8211;  includes the USA, China, EU and more&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/795221\/south-africa-to-become-president-of-international-group-later-this-year-includes-the-usa-china-eu-and-more\/embed\/#?secret=ysqh4ID17l#?secret=dJ1cxI8zNg\" data-secret=\"dJ1cxI8zNg\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Today <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In South Africa, Naspers is a major player in the tech space, as it owns Takealot, Mr D, AutoTrader, Property24, PayU and formerly Superbalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it operates in the publishing space as it owns Media24, which owns News24 and several other digital and print publications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Naspers is the majority owner of Prosus, while Prosus owns 49% of Naspers as per a cross-ownership structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; said Naspers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"R2QDltJCS4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/793984\/retrenchments-at-one-of-south-africas-biggest-ecommerce-stores\/\">Retrenchments at one of South Africa\u2019s biggest online stores<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Retrenchments at one of South Africa\u2019s biggest online stores&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/793984\/retrenchments-at-one-of-south-africas-biggest-ecommerce-stores\/embed\/#?secret=xik0yclX1s#?secret=R2QDltJCS4\" data-secret=\"R2QDltJCS4\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Future Prospects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group&#8217;s financial performance has been mixed recently, especially in South Africa, but there are signs of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Takealot recorded a massive trading loss of R253 million for the year ended 31 March 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Superbalists faced additional challenges with Shein\u2019s entry into the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Takealot thus sold it to a South African consortium of retail and private equity investors led by Blank Canvas Capital in early September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Naspers Group is now under new management following the appointment of new CEO Federico Bloisi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bloisi hails from Brazil and turned a 20-person start-up, iFood, into one of Latin America\u2019s leading food delivery companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bloisi said that identifying new technologies, such as AI, is a priority for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI 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,\u201d said Bloisi upon his appointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Naspers is also looking for a new CFO after Basil Sgourdos announced his retirement from the group after 29 years of service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"DM2pAAdUsD\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/785049\/the-brazilian-running-the-most-valuable-company-in-south-africa\/\">The Brazilian running the most valuable company in South Africa<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;The Brazilian running the most valuable company in South Africa&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/785049\/the-brazilian-running-the-most-valuable-company-in-south-africa\/embed\/#?secret=j3xgKWVyts#?secret=DM2pAAdUsD\" data-secret=\"DM2pAAdUsD\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/795855\/another-major-retailer-in-south-africa-closing-its-doors\/\">Another major retailer in South Africa closing its doors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Naspers has come a long way from its humble beginnings in publishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":796226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26,107,15103,3314],"class_list":["post-795890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-headline","tag-naspers","tag-prosus","tag-takealot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795890"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817493,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795890\/revisions\/817493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}