Prosus NV, a Dutch-listed technology investor, and its South African parent company Naspers announced on Monday that Bob van Dijk had resigned as the CEO of both businesses.
Details on Bob van Dijk, CEO of Naspers and Prosus, resigns
Ervin Tu, the investment director and former technology banker for Goldman Sachs and VisionBank, was appointed interim CEO by the firms.
The reasons behind Van Dijk’s resignation were not disclosed by the corporations. But it also falls on a Monday when a cross-structure between Prosus and Naspers is set to unwind.
Van Dijk handled Prosus’s 2019 initial public offering, and the COVID-19 epidemic helped the company’s price soar. He had trouble bridging the valuation gap between Prosus, Naspers, and the worth of their most valuable asset, the Chinese software behemoth Tencent.
Tencent, which is currently valued at about $387 billion, is owned by Prosus to the tune of 26%.
In order to reduce the gap between the value of the Tencent stake and Naspers, the corporation must now battle.
Share prices have fallen along with the valuation of high-growth technology investments during the post-pandemic slump.
More recently, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Prosus was obliged to sell some of its most desirable minor assets in Russia at a discount.
The firms said in a statement that Van Dijk, who has served as the CEO of Prosus since 2019 and Naspers since 2014, has committed to continue serving as a consultant through September 30, 2024.
The world’s consumer internet firms released a statement saying, “The group’s strategic goals remain unchanged and it is on track to deliver on its commitments.”
