Prosus explores divestment options for PayU in Emerging Markets

Prosus NV, the investment firm affiliated with South African media group Naspers Ltd., is reportedly considering divestments from its financial technology company PayU operating in emerging markets.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Prosus is collaborating with Bank of America Corp. to gauge interest in PayU's business outside India. The potential deal could potentially fetch up to $800 million.

PayU operates across more than 50 countries in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Prosus is reportedly exploring the possibility of selling PayU's operations to different buyers individually while retaining its valuable Indian business.

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TechloyAcquah Nana Yeboah

Naspers established Prosus as a vehicle to house its technology investments and listed it in Amsterdam in 2019. With its significant investment in Tencent Holdings Ltd., Naspers has been seeking avenues to unlock additional value as the Tencent holding grew substantially and overshadowed other aspects of its business.

Prosus has been actively focused on cost reduction and endeavours to achieve profitability by the first half of 2025. Chief Investment Officer Ervin Tu highlighted the company's efforts to enhance shareholder returns, including potential mergers and sales.

Consensus estimates suggest that Prosus's unlisted payments and fintech assets, including PayU, are valued at approximately $4 billion.

While the fintech sector faces challenges in venture capital fundraising, deal activity in the payments industry remains vibrant. Traditional lenders seek to exit the sector, while larger payment groups aim to expand into new markets and scale up their operations.

Prosus had previously abandoned a planned acquisition of Indian online payments firm BillDesk in October.