Company news in brief
Naspers raises US$1.66 bn via Prosus share sale
South Africa's Naspers Ltd said yesterday it sold around 1.5 billion euro ($1.66 billion) worth of shares in Prosus, the Amsterdam-listed subsidiary housing its internet empire.
Last year, Naspers spun off Prosus along with its most valuable asset - a 30% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent .
The South African company said on Tuesday, when it announced the share sale, that it had seen significant interest in Prosus from new investors and the placing would offer "an opportunity to the broad investment community to get exposure" to the stock.
The e-commerce group sold about 22 million Prosus shares, priced at 67.5 euro per share, on Tuesday via an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors. This increased Prosus' free float to 27.5% from 26.2%, and reduced Naspers' holding to 72.5%.
All proceeds will go to Naspers, which will use the funds to buy back shares over time, the company said.
The funds could acquire around 2.2% of Naspers' stock, with a buyback at the Naspers level representing better value for the group because the stock trades at a discount to that of Prosus, Jefferies said in a note. – Nampa/Reuters
Kaufland has no-expansion plans for Australia
German supermarket chain Kaufland has cancelled its plans to expand to Australia and will concentrate on its European core markets instead, local media reported, surprising analysts and sending shares of local peers sharply higher.
"This was not an easy decision for us. We always felt welcome in Australia," said Frank Schumann, acting CEO of Kaufland International, according to the Australian newspaper.
About 200 staff were informed about the decision yesterday, with an assurance that "generous packages" would be offered, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, the company - which had announced plans to launch at least five hyperstores in Australia from 2021 - did not cite a reason for its decision.
About 20 Kaufland stores were at various stages of planning and the German company had also started construction on at least one store as well as a distribution centre in Melbourne, according to Credit Suisse. – Nampa/Reuters
Hyundai Q4 profit beats view on brisk SUV sales
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co reported a better than expected quarterly operating profit, helped by brisk sales of sport-utility vehicles such as its Tucson and Palisade models.
Operating profit for October-December came in at 1.24 trillion won (US$1.07 billion), outperforming analysts' average estimate of 1.06 trillion won, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S data.
Net profit for the quarter came in at 839 billion won, missing analysts' estimates.
In the same quarter a year earlier, Hyundai booked a 129.8 billion won loss, its first quarterly loss in at least eight years as sales slumped in China. It has since closed one of its five Chinese factories. – Nampa/Reuters
Tesla crosses US$100 bn market valuation
Tesla Inc became the first US$100 billion publicly listed US carmaker in extended trading on Tuesday, in a sign of Wall Street's confidence in an all-electric future.
The milestone comes less than a month after Tesla's stock crossed US$420, the infamous price at which chief executive officer Elon Musk had tweeted he would take the electric car maker private.
Tesla shares were last up 1.4% at US$555 after the bell, building on a 7.2% gain during trading when brokerage New Street Research raised its price target to $800.
Tesla's market value also puts Musk a step closer to earning the first US$346 million tranche of options in a record-breaking pay package.
The US$100 billion valuation needs to stay for both a one-month and six-month average in order to trigger the vesting of the first of 12 tranches of options granted to Musk to buy Tesla stock. – Nampa/Reuters
Tencent in bid for online games maker Funcom
China's Tencent Holdings has launched a bid for Norwegian computer games-maker Funcom, valuing the Oslo-listed firm at 1.33 billion Norwegian crowns (US$148 million), the two companies said in a joint statement.
The board and management of Funcom unanimously supported the all-cash bid of 17 crowns per share, a 27% premium to Tuesday's closing price of 13.35 crowns.
Based in the Netherlands, Funcom is the developer of a range of computer games that are played online or on other platforms, including adaptations of the Conan the Barbarian franchise.
Tencent, itself a major distributor of online games, announced last September it had taken a 29% stake in Funcom, making it the largest owner.
"Funcom has a strong track-record in developing new titles with long life spans," said Tencent senior vice-president Steven Ma. – Nampa/Reuters
South Africa's Naspers Ltd said yesterday it sold around 1.5 billion euro ($1.66 billion) worth of shares in Prosus, the Amsterdam-listed subsidiary housing its internet empire.
Last year, Naspers spun off Prosus along with its most valuable asset - a 30% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent .
The South African company said on Tuesday, when it announced the share sale, that it had seen significant interest in Prosus from new investors and the placing would offer "an opportunity to the broad investment community to get exposure" to the stock.
The e-commerce group sold about 22 million Prosus shares, priced at 67.5 euro per share, on Tuesday via an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors. This increased Prosus' free float to 27.5% from 26.2%, and reduced Naspers' holding to 72.5%.
All proceeds will go to Naspers, which will use the funds to buy back shares over time, the company said.
The funds could acquire around 2.2% of Naspers' stock, with a buyback at the Naspers level representing better value for the group because the stock trades at a discount to that of Prosus, Jefferies said in a note. – Nampa/Reuters
Kaufland has no-expansion plans for Australia
German supermarket chain Kaufland has cancelled its plans to expand to Australia and will concentrate on its European core markets instead, local media reported, surprising analysts and sending shares of local peers sharply higher.
"This was not an easy decision for us. We always felt welcome in Australia," said Frank Schumann, acting CEO of Kaufland International, according to the Australian newspaper.
About 200 staff were informed about the decision yesterday, with an assurance that "generous packages" would be offered, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, the company - which had announced plans to launch at least five hyperstores in Australia from 2021 - did not cite a reason for its decision.
About 20 Kaufland stores were at various stages of planning and the German company had also started construction on at least one store as well as a distribution centre in Melbourne, according to Credit Suisse. – Nampa/Reuters
Hyundai Q4 profit beats view on brisk SUV sales
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co reported a better than expected quarterly operating profit, helped by brisk sales of sport-utility vehicles such as its Tucson and Palisade models.
Operating profit for October-December came in at 1.24 trillion won (US$1.07 billion), outperforming analysts' average estimate of 1.06 trillion won, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S data.
Net profit for the quarter came in at 839 billion won, missing analysts' estimates.
In the same quarter a year earlier, Hyundai booked a 129.8 billion won loss, its first quarterly loss in at least eight years as sales slumped in China. It has since closed one of its five Chinese factories. – Nampa/Reuters
Tesla crosses US$100 bn market valuation
Tesla Inc became the first US$100 billion publicly listed US carmaker in extended trading on Tuesday, in a sign of Wall Street's confidence in an all-electric future.
The milestone comes less than a month after Tesla's stock crossed US$420, the infamous price at which chief executive officer Elon Musk had tweeted he would take the electric car maker private.
Tesla shares were last up 1.4% at US$555 after the bell, building on a 7.2% gain during trading when brokerage New Street Research raised its price target to $800.
Tesla's market value also puts Musk a step closer to earning the first US$346 million tranche of options in a record-breaking pay package.
The US$100 billion valuation needs to stay for both a one-month and six-month average in order to trigger the vesting of the first of 12 tranches of options granted to Musk to buy Tesla stock. – Nampa/Reuters
Tencent in bid for online games maker Funcom
China's Tencent Holdings has launched a bid for Norwegian computer games-maker Funcom, valuing the Oslo-listed firm at 1.33 billion Norwegian crowns (US$148 million), the two companies said in a joint statement.
The board and management of Funcom unanimously supported the all-cash bid of 17 crowns per share, a 27% premium to Tuesday's closing price of 13.35 crowns.
Based in the Netherlands, Funcom is the developer of a range of computer games that are played online or on other platforms, including adaptations of the Conan the Barbarian franchise.
Tencent, itself a major distributor of online games, announced last September it had taken a 29% stake in Funcom, making it the largest owner.
"Funcom has a strong track-record in developing new titles with long life spans," said Tencent senior vice-president Steven Ma. – Nampa/Reuters
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