Naspers

Naspers is a broad-based multinational internet and media group headquartered in South Africa, offering services in more than 130 countries. Its principal operations are 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. Naspers made an early investment, US$32 million in 2001, in Chinese internet company Tencent which turned out to be extraordinarily successful; as of 2018, Naspers has an approximately 31% stake in Tencent, and is, by far, the largest shareholder of Tencent stock. 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 foodtech giant Swiggy.