AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Prosus N.V. (Prosus) (Euronext Amsterdam: PRX; JSE: PRX) (the “Offeror”) announces today the Purchase Prices to be paid in connection with the previously announced tender offer that the Offeror commenced on July 6, 2021, for any and all of the U.S.$1,200,000,000 5.500% Notes due 2025 and the U.S.$1,000,000,000 4.850% Notes due 2027 (the “Securities”), each issued by the Offeror and guaranteed by Naspers Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of South Africa, for cash (the “Offer”). The terms and conditions of the Offer are described in an offer to purchase dated July 6, 2021 (the “Offer to Purchase”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this announcement have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase.
Holders are advised to read carefully the Offer to Purchase for full details of, and information on the procedures for participating in, the Offer.
The Reference Yield of the Reference Treasury Security as measured at the Price Determination Time and the Purchase Price are detailed in the table below.
Title of Security |
ISIN/CUSIP |
Principal Amount Outstanding |
Par Call Date |
U.S. Treasury Reference Security |
Reference Yield |
Fixed Spread |
Purchase Price |
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5.500% Notes due 2025 |
Rule 144A: US62856RAC97 / 62856RAC9 Regulation S: USN5946FAC16 / N5946FAC1 |
U.S. |
April 21, 2025 |
0.875% due June 30, 2026 |
0.820% |
35 |
U.S.$1,159.12 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount |
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4.850% Notes due 2027 |
Rule 144A: US62856RAD70 / 62856RAD7 Regulation S: USN5946FAD98 / N5946FAD9
|
U.S. |
April 6, 2027 |
0.875% due June 30, 2026 |
0.820% |
105 |
U.S.$1,161.10 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount |
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THE OFFER
The Offer commenced on July 6, 2021 and will expire at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) today, July 13, 2021 (the “Expiration Deadline”), unless extended, re-opened and/or terminated as provided in the Offer to Purchase. The Offeror will pay a “Purchase Price” per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Deadline (including those validly tendered in accordance with the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures) as set out in the table above.
In addition to the payment of the Purchase Price, each Holder whose Securities are validly tendered and delivered (and not validly withdrawn) (including those validly tendered in accordance with the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures) and accepted for purchase will also be paid Accrued Interest equal to interest accrued and unpaid on the Securities from (and including) the immediately preceding interest payment date for the Securities to (but excluding) the Settlement Date.
Accrued Interest will cease to accrue on the Settlement Date, and (in the case of Securities for which the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures are used) no additional accrued interest will be paid in respect of the period from the Settlement Date to the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date.
The Purchase Price and the Accrued Interest for the Securities validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) in the Offer will be paid on the Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date, as applicable (subject to any postponement of the applicable Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date, as applicable, as described in the Offer to Purchase).
The Offer is not conditioned on any minimum amount of Securities being tendered. The Offeror’s obligation to accept and pay for Securities in the Offer is, however, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the General Conditions contained in the Offer to Purchase. The Offer was also subject to the condition that the Offeror shall have completed prior to the Expiration Deadline one or more offerings of debt securities that result in aggregate net proceeds of at least U.S.$2.2 billion equivalent, on terms and subject to conditions satisfactory to the Offeror in its sole discretion (collectively, the “Financing Condition”). The Financing Condition has been satisfied.
Subject to applicable securities laws and the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, the Offeror reserves the right, with respect to the Offer made by it, (i) to waive or modify in whole or in part any and all conditions to the Offer, (ii) to extend the Withdrawal Deadline or the Expiration Deadline, (iii) to modify or terminate the Offer or (iv) to otherwise amend the Offer in any respect.
Announcements in connection with the Offer will be made by the delivery of a press release to a widely disseminated news or wire service. Copies of all announcements, notices and press releases will be available from the Information & Tender Agent. All documentation relating to the Offer, together with any updates, will also be available on the Offer website (https://sites.dfkingltd.com/prosus) operated by the Information & Tender Agent for the purpose of the Offer.
A tender of Securities for purchase pursuant to the Offer should be made by the submission of a valid Tender Instruction. If any Holder wishes to tender its Securities but such Holder cannot comply with the procedures for the submission of a valid Tender Instruction prior to the Expiration Deadline, such Holder may tender its Securities according to the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures, as set out in the Offer to Purchase.
The results of the Offer are expected to be announced on July 14, 2021.
INDICATIVE TIMETABLE
The following table sets out the expected dates and times of the remaining key events relating to the Offer. This is an indicative timetable and is subject to change.
Date and Time |
Action |
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July 13, 2021, 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) |
Expiration Deadline |
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The last time and date for Holders to submit Tender Instructions (or, where applicable, Notices of Guaranteed Delivery) in order to be able to participate in the Offer and to be eligible to receive the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest on the Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date, as applicable. |
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July 13, 2021, 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) |
Withdrawal Deadline |
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Deadline for Holders to properly withdraw tenders of their Securities (or, where applicable, Notices of Guaranteed Delivery). If a tender of Securities (or, where applicable, a Notice of Guaranteed Delivery) is properly withdrawn, the Holder will not receive any consideration on the Settlement Date or the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date, as applicable (unless that Holder validly re-tenders such Securities at or prior to the Expiration Deadline and the Securities are accepted by the Offeror). |
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July 14, 2021 |
Announcement of Results of the Offer |
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The Offeror expects to announce the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer (assuming that Securities tendered in accordance with the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures are validly delivered by the Guaranteed Delivery Deadline). |
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July 15, 2021, 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) |
Guaranteed Delivery Deadline |
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The last time and date for Holders to validly deliver Securities in respect of which a Notice of Guaranteed Delivery was delivered at or prior to the Expiration Deadline. |
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Expected to be July 15, 2021 |
Settlement Date |
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Settlement Date for Securities validly tendered and accepted for purchase by the Offeror, other than in the case of Securities validly tendered pursuant to the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures. Payment of the Purchase Price and any Accrued Interest in respect of any such Securities. |
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Expected to be July 16, 2021 |
Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date |
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Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date for Securities validly tendered and accepted for purchase by the Offeror pursuant to the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures. Payment of the Purchase Price and any Accrued Interest in respect of any such Securities. |
The above dates and times are subject, where applicable, to the right of the Offeror to extend, re-open, amend, and/or terminate the Offer, subject to applicable securities laws and the terms set within the Offer to Purchase. Holders of Securities are advised to check with any bank, securities broker or other intermediary through which they hold Securities when such intermediary would require to receive instructions to participate in, or withdraw their instruction to participate in, the Offer before the deadlines set out above.
Holders of Securities are advised to read carefully the Offer to Purchase for full details of and information on the procedures for participating in the Offer.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Holders of Securities may access the Offer to Purchase and the form of Notice of Guaranteed Delivery at https://sites.dfkingltd.com/prosus.
Questions and requests for assistance in connection with the Offer may be directed to the Dealer Managers:
BofA Securities Europe SA 51 rue La Boétie 75008 Paris France
Attention: Liability Management Group
Telephone (Europe):
Telephone (U.S. Toll Free):
Telephone (U.S.): Email: DG.LM-EMEA@bofa.com
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Citigroup Global Markets Limited Citigroup Centre Canada Square, Canary Wharf London E14 5LB United Kingdom
Attention: Liability Management Group
Telephone (Europe):
Telephone (U.S. Toll Free):
Telephone (U.S.): Email: liabilitymanagement.europe@citi.com
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Questions and requests for assistance in connection with the tender of Securities including requests for a copy of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to:
INFORMATION & TENDER AGENT
D.F. King
Email: prosus@dfkingltd.com
Offer Website: https://sites.dfkingltd.com/prosus
In New York:
48 Wall Street
United States |
In London:
65 Gresham Street London EC2V 7NQ United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7920 9700 |
NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
Subject to applicable law, the Offeror or any of its affiliates may, at any time and from time to time following completion or cancellation of the Offer, purchase remaining outstanding Securities through open market or privately negotiated transactions, through tender offers, exchange offers, redemptions or otherwise on such terms and at such prices as the Offeror or, if applicable, its affiliates may determine. Such terms, consideration and prices may be more or less favorable than those offered pursuant to the Offer.
This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which must be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer. If any Holder of Securities is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own legal, accounting and financial advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, attorney, accountant or other independent financial adviser. Any individual or company whose Securities are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Offer. None of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers, the Information & Tender Agent and any person who controls, or is a director, officer, employee or agent of such persons, or any affiliate of such persons, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of Securities should participate in the Offer.
This announcement contains information that qualifies, or may qualify, as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
Cautionary Statement
This announcement includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Offeror’s control and all of which are based on the Offeror’s current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “aim”, “annualized”, “anticipate”, “assume”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “goal”, “hope”, “intend”, “likely”, “may”, “objective”, “plan”, “position”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “risk”, “seek”, “should”, “target”, “will” or “would” or the highlights or the negatives thereof, other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts.
These forward-looking statements and other statements contained in this announcement regarding matters that are not historical facts involve predictions. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the Offeror. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from the future results indicated, expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this announcement speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable laws and regulations, the Offeror expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which such statements are based.
OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS
This announcement and the Offer to Purchase do not constitute an offer or an invitation to participate in the Offer in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such offer or invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable laws. The distribution of this announcement and the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement or the Offer to Purchase comes are required by the Offeror, the Dealer Managers and the Information & Tender Agent to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
United Kingdom
This announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer are not being made and such documents have not been approved by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to persons outside the United Kingdom and to those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined by Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (“Financial Promotion Order”)) or persons who are within Article 34 of the Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order.
EEA
In the EEA, this announcement and the Offer will not, directly or indirectly, be made to, or for the account of, any person other than to qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation.
Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase, nor any other documentation or material relating to the Offer, has been or will be submitted to a competent authority in the EEA for approval. Therefore, neither the Offer to Purchase nor any other documentation or material relating to the Offer qualifies as an approved prospectus as meant in Article 6 of the Prospectus Regulation.
Accordingly, in the EEA, the Offer may not be made by way of an “offer of securities to the public” within the meaning of Article 2(d) of the Prospectus Regulation and the Offer may not be promoted and is not being made to, any person in the EEA (with the exception of “qualified investors” within the meaning of Article 2(e) in conjunction with Article 1(4)(a) of the Prospectus Regulation). This announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documentation or materials relating to the Offer (including memoranda, information circulars, brochures or similar documents) have not been forwarded or made available to, and are not being forwarded or made available to, directly or indirectly, any such person.
With regard to the EEA, this announcement and the Offer to Purchase have been transmitted only for personal use by the aforementioned qualified investors and only for the purpose of the Offer. Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and the Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or be transmitted to any other person in the EEA.
Belgium
None of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor financiële diensten en markten / Autorité des services marches financiers) and, accordingly, the Offer may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offer may not be advertised and the Offer will not be extended, and none of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than “qualified investors” in the sense of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation, acting on their own account. This announcement and/or the Offer to Purchase have been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offer. Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and/or Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium.
France
This announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or offering materials relating to the Offer may not be distributed in the Republic of France except to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation. The Offer to Purchase has not been and will not be submitted for clearance to the Autorité des marchés financiers.
Italy
None of the Offer, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer has been or will be submitted to the clearance procedure of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (“CONSOB”), pursuant to Italian laws and regulations.
The Offer is being carried out in Italy as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the “Financial Services Act”) and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended (the “Issuers’ Regulation”). The Offer is also being carried out in compliance with article 35-bis, paragraph 7 of the Issuers’ Regulation.
Holders or beneficial owners of the Securities that are located in Italy can tender Securities through authorized persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority.
South Africa
The communication of this announcement by the Offeror and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer should not be construed as constituting any form of investment advice or recommendation, guidance or proposal of a financial nature under the South African Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 37 of 2002 (as amended or re-enacted). The Offer is not being made to and does not constitute an “offer to the public” (as such term is defined in the South African Companies Act, 71 of 2008 (the “SA Companies Act”) and the Offer to Purchase is not, nor is it intended to constitute, a “registered prospectus” (as such term is defined in the SA Companies Act) prepared and registered under the SA Companies Act.
General
This announcement is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to buy, a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any securities. The Tender Offer is being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and only in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law. Please see the Offer to Purchase for certain important information on offer restrictions applicable to the Tender Offer.
About Prosus
Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities.
The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology sectors in markets including India, Russia and Brazil. Through its ventures team, Prosus invests in areas including health, logistics, blockchain, and social commerce. Prosus actively seeks new opportunities to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives.
Every day, millions of people use the products and services of companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired or built, including Avito, Brainly, BYJU’S, Bykea, Codecademy, DappRadar, DeHaat, dott, ElasticRun, eMAG, Eruditus, Honor, iFood, Klar, LazyPay, letgo, Meesho, Movile, OLX, PayU, Quick Ride, Red Dot Payment, Remitly, Republic, SimilarWeb, Shipper, Skillsoft, SoloLearn, Swiggy, and Udemy.
Hundreds of millions of people have made the platforms of Prosus’s associates a part of their daily lives. For listed companies where we have an interest, please see: Tencent (www.tencent.com), Mail.ru (www.corp.mail.ru), Trip.com Group Limited (www.trip.com), and DeliveryHero (www.deliveryhero.com).
Today, Prosus companies and associates help improve the lives of around a fifth of the world’s population.
Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX:PRX) and secondary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (XJSE:PRX) and a2X Markets (PRX.AJ). Prosus is majority owned by Naspers. For more information, please visit www.prosus.com.
Contacts
Eoin Ryan
Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +1 347-210-4305
Email: eoin.ryan@prosus.com
Sarah Ryan
Media Relations, International
Mobile: +31 6 297 21038
Email: sarah.ryan@prosus.com
Shamiela Letsoalo
Media Relations, South Africa
Mobile +27 78 802 6310
Email: shamiela.letsoalo@prosus.com