Naspers Limited

Naspers Limited is a multinational Internet group which is known for its principal operations in Internet communication, entertainment, gaming and e-commerce. It was founded in 1915, in South Africa, by Jannie Marais of Coetsenburg and W.A. Hofmeyr, with the support of Jan Christiaan Smuts, Louis Botha, and National Party founding president J.B.M. Hertzog. In 2001, Naspers made an early and successful investment of US$32 million in Chinese social media and gaming company Tencent. As of 2018, Naspers (through international operations subsidiary Prosus since 2019) had approximately a 31% stake in Tencent, and is its largest individual shareholder.[3] Its investment in Tencent also appears to be the main driver of the value of its own stock, and has since overshadowed the operational aspects of the Naspers business. It has also made less notable investments in other technology companies. In December 2018, Naspers invested $1 billion in India's online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy.

One example that may illustrate the complexity of global media flows and their effect on media industries in the global South is that of South Africa.[13] Naspers has grown from a South African newspaper group to an emerging global media company which focuses on technology based investments and internet channels. The Global company has gone down many different paths for its revenue over the 20 years, and international business is still dominating today.[14] While the sociopolitical factors play an integral role in consuming media, especially in the global south. In South Africa media consumption is unequal and the digital divide is apparent. This South African conglomerate is an example of how International media is a complex issue that deals with social, economic, and political spectre.[15] It is important when looking at globalization to remember the trends of the media-filled global north that are being followed by the global south.[16] Globalization of media industries should not only be seen in terms of flows and contraflows between countries, but should also show domestic contestations in local media industries but are a result of global processes. Today the company has a global footprint in the media and internet sectors and continues to expand into other markets. Naspers's initial 34 million dollar investment for a 31% stake in Chinese tech company Tencent in 2001 is now worth a 130 billion.[17] That just marked the beginning for the South African conglomerate as the investments internationally continued. In 2013, Naspers announced its investments in India which totaled over 4 billion that were settled in cash or credited to them. Naspers continued to grow in the global south and made investments in Africa in the 2000s. They are the most dominant media corporation on the African continent as 48 African countries subscribe to the media and internet conglomerate. The footprint doesn't stop there as they sold facebook investments to Russias largest email site. The footprint also has made its mark in Europe.[18] In 2019, Naspers had announced the introduction into Europe.(Prosus) Naspers spin-off company in Europe, Prosus hopes to be one of the top twenty tech companies as China and the U.S. hold the throne. Prosus said its market capitalization on its first day of trading is roughly $100 billion.[19] As a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.[20] Prosus is likely to become the largest listed consumer internet company by asset value in Europe. Tencent investment[edit] Naspers purchased 46.5 percent in Chinese internet company Tencent from early investors including PCCW and IDG Capital,[21] then a start-up, in 2001. The investment paid off for Naspers in dramatic fashion, boosting the Naspers stock price over time,[22] making it the most valuable publicly traded business in Africa by 2017. It sold a part of its stake in March 2018, raising some $10 billion. At that time, its initial investment of $32 million had ballooned to a stake worth over $175 billion.[23] Notably, the market value of its Tencent holdings was greater than the market capitalization of the firm itself. The move has been referred to as one of the most successful venture capital investments of all time.[24] Other ventures[edit] Myriad International Holdings, a subsidiary of Naspers, owns a 28.7% stake in Digital Sky Technologies (DST), the Russian firm behind investments in Internet companies like Facebook, Groupon, and Zynga. In March 2014, Naspers invested $75 million in Souq.com.[25] Over two rounds in May and September 2017, Naspers invested 1.05 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in Germany's Delivery Hero AG, and was involved in 14 deals worth $1.94 billion in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.[26] MultiChoice shares were sold in 2019.[1] In January 2019, Naspers acquired Dubizzle, a classifieds website targeting the UAE, for $190 million

Questions

1. Use the concept of dynamic strategy to explain the current position of the organisation. [30]

2. Conduct a scenario analysis for the organisation you have selected that will guide them in their strategic decision-making. You can develop or follow any scenario planning process that will suit the objective of the exercise (but the process should include a thorough environmental analysis). Clearly describe the process, your analysis (using various frameworks) and the scenarios that you have developed. [50]

3. Based on your scenario analysis, and your identification of key strategic resources and capabilities, make recommendations to the management of the organisation regarding their future strategy.