Prosus, Naspers reject report they intend to sell Tencent stake

APD NEWS

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Technology investment firm Prosus NV and its South African parent Naspers on Tuesday rejected as "untrue" a report that they are in talks to sell their large stake in Chinese software and gaming giant Tencent.

In a pre-market statement, Amsterdam-based Prosus said an article in Asian Tech Press citing unnamed sources saying that Naspers was in talks with a group of investors led by state-backed CITIC of China to sell its entire Tencent stake was "speculative and untrue."

CITIC also said the report was not true and it has no such plan, business news website yicai.com reported on Tuesday.

Prosus holds a 28 percent stake in Tencent worth $70 billion at current prices. It has said it intends to sell the stake down gradually to fund a share repurchase program.

"The Naspers Board and Prosus Board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent's long term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase program is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers and their respective shareholders," they said in a statement.

(CGTN)