Prosus is struggling to shed Tencent shadow
BREAKINGVIEWS-Prosus is struggling to shed Tencent shadow The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to fix hyperlink in paragraph six
By Jennifer Johnson
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prosus PRX.AS is among Europe’s largest technology companies – but that has never been a major selling point for investors. As Tencent’s 0700.HK largest shareholder, its shares move in lockstep with those of the Chinese e-commerce titan. CEO Fabricio Bloisi is betting that Prosus’ payments and food-delivery ventures will lift its valuation and persuade shareholders to see it as more than a Tencent wrapper. His strategy is starting to pay off in Latin America, though Europe will be the real litmus test.
The relationship with Tencent began 25 years ago when Prosus' parent company, Naspers, made an early investment in the then-fledgling Chinese internet group. It went on to create WeChat, a so-called “super app” in which users can do everything from messaging to shopping and travel bookings. When Naspers created and listed Prosus in 2019, it bundled the Tencent holding into the new entity. The move has proved to be both a blessing and a curse.
The $115 billion Tencent stake accounts for three-quarters of Prosus’ total $155 billion investment portfolio, based on the Dutch group’s own calculations. After deducting debt, Prosus’ net asset value is $149 billion, and yet its market capitalisation is only $96 billion, implying a 35% discount. One implication is that investors largely disregard the value of the $33 billion private portfolio, which includes stakes in online classifieds group OLX, Brazilian food-delivery platform iFood and payments provider PayU.
On one level, that discount looks excessive. The group’s free cash flow excluding dividends paid by Tencent reached $275 million in the year to March 31 – up from $18 million for the same period in 2025. Latin America was a standout, with iFood's revenue up 40% on a reported basis, while its adjusted EBITDA rose 56% to $400 million. Bloisi is hoping it serves as a template for success elsewhere in the world. The group has been able to use its iFood delivery app to steer customers towards its other available services, including Latin American travel booking app Despegar. Prosus is betting that this so-called “ecosystem” approach is the key to emerging from Tencent’s shadow.
However, replicating it won’t be easy in Europe, where Prosus is working to turn around Just Eat Takeaway, its flagship food delivery app in the region. When it bought the business in November 2025, it inherited a platform with dwindling demand, high delivery costs and a messy internal technology setup. Though Prosus has said pilot programmes it's running in select cities have shown order growth of up to 25%, turning Just Eat into an iFood-style juggernaut will take time. The deal also came with a hidden sting. As a condition of buying Just Eat, European antitrust officials demanded that Prosus cut its stake in the profitable and growing Delivery Hero, which opened the door for Uber to swoop in and agree to purchase it in its entirety in July.
Once the $15 billion acquisition is completed, Uber will control the largest food-delivery group outside of China. That’s a strong competitive position, which leaves Prosus looking like a relative underdog. Given its “ecosystem” will take time to prove its value, for now its fortunes will be tethered to Tencent.
Follow Jennifer Johnson on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
CONTEXT NEWS
On August 19, Indian fintech startup Navi said it will raise $100 million from Dutch tech investor Prosus. According to a source cited by the Economic Times, the investment values the group at $1.3 billion.
Prosus also owns around 25% of Swiggy, an Indian food-delivery and quick-commerce platform, and a minority stake in Bengaluru-based ride hailing platform Rapido.
In July, the Amsterdam-based group agreed to sell its remaining 16.8% stake in Delivery Hero to Uber following the ride-hailing group’s recent takeover offer for the firm.
(Editing by Aimee Donnellan; Production by Varun H K)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on JOHNSON/Jennifer.Johnson@thomsonreuters.com))