Amsterdam-based technology investor Prosus NV has sold 2 percent stake in Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent for $14.6 billion.
Tencent — in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing — said Prosus sold 191.89 million shares for HK$595.00, reducing its stake to 28.9 percent.
Prosus has committed to not reducing its remaining stake further for the coming three years.
“Our belief in Tencent and its management team is steadfast, but we also need to fund continued growth in our core business lines and emerging sectors,” Prosus Chairman Koos Bekker said in a statement after the completion of the deal on Thursday.
A statement from Tencent Chairman Pony Ma said he viewed Prosus, which was spun off from Naspers of South Africa in a 2019 IPO, as a committed strategic partner over a great many years. Tencent respects and understands the (stake sale) decision.”
Naspers bought the Tencent stake Prosus now holds in 2001.
The block trade was the largest since 2018, when Naspers sold 2 percent of the group for $9.8 billion, Refinitiv data shows.
Prosus Chief Executive Bob van Dijk said the company has a “healthy set” of potential acquisition targets.
Prosus owns interests in online food delivery platforms, classified marketplaces and digital payments businesses.