Tencent-Backer Prosus Unloads Nearly $4 Billion of JD.com Stock

(Bloomberg) — An arm of South African internet giant Naspers Ltd. sold almost $4 billion worth of stock in JD.com Inc. that it got as dividends from investee Tencent, saying the e-commerce firm didn’t fit with its broader strategy.

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Naspers subsidiary Prosus NV sold more than 131.8 million shares in JD it got from Tencent Holdings Ltd., about a 4% stake in the online retailer, Prosus said in a statement. “JD.com does not form part of the group’s core strategic focus,” it said in a filing Monday.

Tencent, China’s largest social media company, said in December it planned to distribute its stock in JD.com as dividends to shareholders, a surprise retreat from the e-commerce firm after Beijing moved in 2021 to curtail the power of tech monopolies. The stock was worth about $16 billion at the time.

Prosus completed the sale June 24, netting aggregate proceeds of about $3.67 billion.

Read more: Tencent Hands Out $16 Billion of JD Stock in Crackdown-Led Shift