12 Jul 2021

SENS: Prosus voluntary share exchange offer update: Prosus prospectus published and opening of the exchange offer

Prosus has published its prospectus (the Prospectus) in relation to the exchange offer made by Prosus to the holders (Naspers N Shareholders) of the N ordinary shares in the issued share capital of Naspers.

  Naspers Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1925/001431/06)
JSE share code: NPN ISIN: ZAE000015889
LSE ADS code: NPSN ISIN: US 6315122092
(“Naspers”)

 PROSUS VOLUNTARY SHARE EXCHANGE OFFER UPDATE: PROSUS PROSPECTUS PUBLISHED AND OPENING OF THE EXCHANGE OFFER

Further to the announcement released by Prosus N.V. ("Prosus") today, 12 July 2021, shareholders are advised that:

  • Prosus has published its prospectus (the Prospectus) in relation to the exchange offer made by Prosus to the holders (Naspers N Shareholders) of the N ordinary shares in the issued share capital of Naspers (Naspers N Ordinary Shares), in terms of which, through a pro rata voluntary tender offer to the Naspers N Shareholders, the Naspers N Shareholders are entitled to exchange their Naspers N Ordinary Shares for new ordinary shares N in the capital of Prosus (New Prosus Ordinary Shares N) at the exchange ratio of 2.27443 New Prosus Ordinary Shares N for each Naspers N Ordinary Share tendered in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Prospectus (the Exchange Offer); and
  • the Exchange Offer is open for acceptance from 09:00 hours CEST/SAST today, Monday, 12 July 2021 and will close at 12:00 hours CEST/SAST on Friday, 13 August 2021. Notwithstanding the closing date, Naspers N Shareholders intending to participate in the Exchange Offer are encouraged to accept the Exchange Offer in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus as soon as possible prior to the closing date in order to ensure efficient and effective settlement of the Exchange Offer.

Naspers N Shareholders are referred to the "Exchange Offer Memorandum" section of the Prospectus for full details regarding the Exchange Offer.

PRIOR TO ANY NASPERS N SHAREHOLDER TAKING ANY ACTION IN TERMS OF THE EXCHANGE OFFER, NASPERS N SHAREHOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE CONTENTS OF THE PROSPECTUS IN FULL AND TO ONLY TAKE ACTION AFTER HAVING CONSIDERED THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE CAPITAL RESTRUCTURE DETAILED IN THE PROSPECTUS.

The Prospectus is published in English only. Subject to any applicable securities laws, copies of the Prospectus and certain other documents relating to the Capital Restructure (as defined therein), are available and can be obtained free of charge at www.share-exchange-offer.com and, during their normal business hours, at the registered office of Prosus (Gustav Mahlerplein 5, 1082 MS Amsterdam and, in South Africa, at the office of Investec Bank Limited, at 100 Grayston Drive, Sandton, Johannesburg) from the date of the Prospectus until at least the settlement date of the Exchange Offer, expected to occur on Monday, 16 August 2021, or as soon as practicable thereafter.

For more details, please visit www.share-exchange-offer.com.

Should you require further assistance, please contact the call centre on +27 87 015 0343.

Cape Town, South Africa

12 July 2021

JSE sponsor to Naspers

Investec Bank Limited

Dutch Legal Adviser to Naspers

Allen & Overy LLP

South African Legal Adviser to Naspers

Webber Wentzel

US Legal Adviser to Naspers

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Joint Financial Advisers to Prosus

Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc

Disclaimers

This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014).

Shareholders should note that the Prosus Board reserves the right, in its discretion, to decide not to proceed with the Exchange Offer and, as such, the Exchange Offer may or may not proceed.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and neither this document nor anything herein nor any copy thereof may be taken into or distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction in which to do so would be prohibited by applicable law.

There will be no public offer of any securities in the United States. The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or to, or for the benefit or account of, any U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

The information contained in this announcement does not constitute or form a part of any offer to the public for the sale of, or subscription for, or an invitation, advertisement or the solicitation of an offer to purchase and/or subscribe for, securities as defined in and/or contemplated by the South African Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008 ("South African Companies Act"). Accordingly, this announcement does not, nor does it intend to, constitute a “registered prospectus” or an advertisement relating to an offer to the public, as contemplated by the South African Companies Act and no prospectus has been, or will be, filed with the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in respect of this announcement.

The information contained in this announcement constitutes factual information as contemplated in Section 1(3)(a) of the South African Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 37 of 2002, as amended ("FAIS Act") and should not be construed as an express or implied recommendation, guide or proposal that any particular transaction in respect of the Prosus Ordinary Shares N and/or Naspers N Ordinary Shares or in relation to the business or future investments of Prosus and/or Naspers, is appropriate to the particular investment objectives, financial situations or needs of a prospective investor, and nothing contained in this announcement should be construed as constituting the canvassing for, or marketing or advertising of, financial services in South Africa. Prosus is not a financial services provider licensed as such under the FAIS Act.

In member states of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) (each, a “Relevant Member State”) no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of Securities requiring publication of a prospectus in any Relevant Member State. As a result, this announcement and any offer if made subsequently is directed exclusively at persons who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation (“Qualified Investors”). For these purposes, the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation 2017/1129/EU (and amendments thereto) and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation and has not been approved by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten).

In the United Kingdom this announcement is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, and any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with, qualified investors (as defined under Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) who are (i) investment professionals falling with Article 19(5) of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”); (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iii) other persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). Persons who are not relevant persons should not take any action on the basis of this announcement and should not act or rely on it.

The release, publication, or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than South Africa may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable restrictions or requirements. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Prosus disclaims any responsibility or liability for the violation of such requirements by any person.

It is the responsibility of each Naspers N shareholder (including, without limitation, nominees, agents and trustees for such persons) wishing to receive this announcement and/or participate in the Exchange Offer, or a component thereof, to satisfy themselves as to the full observance of the applicable laws of any relevant territory, including obtaining any requisite governmental or other consents, observing any other requirements or formalities and paying any issue, transfer or other taxes due in such territories.

Investors are advised to read the Prospectus, which contains the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offer, with care and in full. Any decision to implement the Exchange Offer or analysis of and/or acceptance and/or election in respect of the Exchange Offer and/or other matters dealt with in the Prospectus should be made only on the basis of such information.

Application will be made for all of the Prosus Ordinary Shares N proposed to be issued pursuant to the Exchange Offer to be admitted to listing and trading on the AEX and on the Main Board of the JSE and A2X Markets. The Prospectus to be issued by Prosus in respect of, among other things, the Exchange Offer will be made available in due course, subject to applicable securities laws, on www.prosus.com. Investors should have regard to the Prospectus before deciding to elect to participate in the Exchange Offer.

Any financial adviser of Prosus is acting exclusively for Prosus and no one else in connection with the Exchange Offer. No financial adviser will regard any other person as its client in relation to the Exchange Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Prosus for providing the protections afforded to its client nor for giving advice in relation to the Exchange Offer or any other transaction or arrangement referred to in this announcement.

No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made or given, and no responsibility is accepted, by or on behalf of any financial adviser or any of its affiliates or any of its respective directors, officers or employees or any other person, as to the accuracy, completeness, fairness or verification of the information or opinions contained this announcement and nothing contained in this announcement is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation by any financial adviser or any of their respective affiliates as to the past or future. Accordingly, any financial advisers and its affiliates and respective directors, officers and employees disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all and any liability, whether arising in tort or contract or that they might otherwise be found to have in respect of this announcement and/or any such statement.

Nothing contained in this announcement constitutes, or is intended to constitute, investment, tax, legal, accounting, or other professional advice.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains statements about Prosus and/or Naspers that are, or may be, forward-looking statements. All statements (other than statements of historical fact) are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those concerning: strategy; the economic outlook for the industries in which Prosus and/or Naspers operates or invests as well as markets generally; production; cash costs and other operating results; growth prospects and outlook for operations and/or investments, individually or in the aggregate; liquidity, capital resources and expenditure, statements in relation to the approval by shareholders or implementation of the Exchange Offer and/or the benefits of the Exchange Offer. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect current expectations concerning future results and events and generally may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe", "aim", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "foresee", "forecast", "likely", "should", "planned", "may", "estimated", "potential" or similar words and phrases. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements regarding a future financial position or future profits, cash flows, corporate strategy, implementation of the Exchange Offer and/or the benefits of the Exchange Offer, anticipated levels of growth, estimates of capital expenditures, acquisition and investment strategy, expansion prospects or future capital expenditure levels and other economic factors, such as, among others, growth and interest rates.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Prosus cautions that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results, financial and operating conditions, returns and the developments within the industries and markets in which Prosus and/or Naspers operates and/or invests may differ materially from those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. All these forward-looking statements are based on estimates, predictions and assumptions, as regards Prosus or Naspers, all of which estimates, predictions and assumptions, although Prosus believes them to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain and may not eventuate or eventuate in the manner Prosus expects. Factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those statements or assumptions include matters not yet known to Prosus or not currently considered material by Prosus.

Investors should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this announcement or elsewhere is applicable only at the date on which such forward-looking statement is made. New factors that could cause the business of Prosus or Naspers not to develop as expected may emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all of them. Further, the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results, performance, or achievement to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement is not known. Prosus has no duty to, and does not intend to, update, or revise the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or any other information herein, except as may be required by law. Any forward-looking statement has not been reviewed nor reported on by Prosus's external auditor or any other expert.    

About Naspers

Established in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself to become a global consumer internet company and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Through Prosus, the group operates and invests globally in markets with long-term growth potential, building leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities. Prosus has its primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam, and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Naspers is the majority owner of Prosus. 

In South Africa, Naspers is one of the foremost investors in the technology sector and is committed to building its internet and ecommerce companies. These include Takealot, Mr D Food, Superbalist, Autotrader, Property24 and PayU, in addition to Media24, South Africa’s leading print and digital media business. 

Naspers has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (NPN.SJ), a secondary listing on the A2X Exchange (NPN.AJ) in South Africa, and has a level 1 American Depository Receipt (ADR) programme which trades on an over-the-counter basis in the United States of America.

For more information, please visit www.naspers.com.

Naspers Labs 

In 2019, Naspers Labs, a youth development programme designed to transform and launch South Africa’s unemployed youth into economic activity, was launched. Naspers Labs focuses on digital skills and training, enabling young people to pursue tech careers.

Response to COVID-19

Naspers contributed R1.5 billion of emergency aid to support the South African government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This contribution consisted of R500 million towards the Solidarity Fund and R1 billion worth of PPE sourced and distributed to South Africa’s front-line healthcare workers. In addition, Naspers contributed R6.9 million to the Nelson Mandela Foundation's EachOne FeedOne programme to support families who COVID-19 has impacted with meals for a year.