Prosus NV has started selling down its stake in Meituan, a holding valued at more than $4 billion, after the Chinese food-delivery app announced plans to start expanding in some of Prosus’ territories such as Brazil, people familiar with the matter said.
Prosus has sold about $250 million in Meituan shares in the last two weeks and may sell more, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal wasn’t public. The company will reinvest the proceeds to build out its other e-commerce brands, they said. Prosus holds 257.5 million shares in Meituan that were valued at $4.2 billion as of Tuesday, according to a disclosure on its website. That equates to a less-than 5% stake.
“Our priorities are our ecosystems that we want to help build,” said Prosus’ head of investments Fahd Beg, declining to comment on the Meituan sale. “We are happy to keep some minority stakes and to sell down in some instances to help fund our ecosystems.”
A representative for Meituan declined to comment.
Meituan, which is known for winning market share in new territories with aggressive marketing and price cuts, has pledged to spend $1 billion to bring its Keeta food delivery app to Brazil, where Prosus’ iFood is dominant.
The Beijing-based company warned that its push into new markets, combined with intensifying competition in China was likely to hurt profits, in the short term. Meituan has also entered Middle Eastern markets, threatening Prosus indirectly by challenging Talabat Holding Plc. The United Arab Emirates-based food-delivery business is controlled by Prosus’ investment Delivery Hero SE.
Prosus Chief Executive Officer Fabricio Bloisi is streamlining the tech investment company’s vast portfolio to focus on exerting greater control over fewer assets. Amsterdam-based Prosus, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Naspers Ltd., said it plans to build out its lifestyle e-commerce ecosystems with a focus on Latin America, Europe and India.
The company is in the process of buying Dutch delivery company JustEat Takeaway.com and has offered to sell down its 27% holding in Germany’s Delivery Hero, Bloomberg News has reported previously. Last year, Prosus also sold its stake in China’s Trip.com for about $1.5 billion, and a 4% stake in JD.com.
Prosus reported a profit for the first time this year under Bloisi’s new strategy, which is focused on doubling the group’s market value by mid-2028. Shares are up more than 50% since Bloisi took over a year ago.
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