Two days day after Chinese Internet giant Tencent announced its most recent performance numbers, its biggest shareholder Naspers said it would sell at least 190 million Tencent shares, equal to 2% of Tencent’s total share capital and cutting its holdings to 31%, Yicai.com reported.
Based on Tencent’s current stock piece, these shares are valued at approximately US$10.6 billion. Tencent closed at HK$439.4 on March 22, down 5% throughout the day.
Analysts are concerned that due to the worse-than-expected performance and news of a major shareholder in a sell-off, it may put continuing pressure on Tencent’s stock price.
However, Huang Wei, economic strategist from Lukfook Financial, said it is normal for a majority shareholder to cash out, and, as long as there is a suitable buyer, such as a large fund, it will not have a great impact on Tencent.
The report also said Naspers will not sell any more Tencent shares for at least the next three years, which is in line with its long-standing position in the company.