Naspers to Spin Off MultiChoice Pay-TV Unit on Feb. 27

(Bloomberg) -- Naspers Ltd. will list its pay-TV unit MultiChoice in Johannesburg on Feb. 27, spinning off a business it developed over three decades to shareholders as it focuses on its fast-growing internet investments.

• The move will result in Naspers shareholders holding a direct interest in MultiChoice rather than holding that interest through Africa’s most valuable company. Naspers first announced plans to list the unit last September.

Key Insights

• Naspers shares trade at a steep discount to its most important asset -- Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. -- and Chief Executive Officer Bob Van Dijk wants to boost shareholder value by spinning off MultiChoice.
• MultiChoice started as a division of South African TV producer M-Net, which Naspers founded in 1985. The company has 13.9 million household customers in 50 countries.
• Renaissance Capital in September valued MultiChoice, which includes assets such as streaming service Showmax, at around $6.6 billion.

Get More

• Read the statement from Naspers.
• For more, click here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Robert McLaughlin in Stockholm at kmclaughlin6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net

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