Tencent to divest $24 bln Meituan stake
STORY: Tencent is set to sell much or all of its $24 billion stake in food delivery firm Meituan.
That’s according to four Reuters sources.
They say the move is intended to mollify regulators, and monetise an eight-year-old investment.
Tencent owns a 17% stake in Meituan.
Now two of the sources say it intends to kick off the sale within this year, if market conditions allow.
It comes after a sweeping crackdown on tech firms by Beijing watchdogs.
Since late 2020 they’ve been taking aim at concentrations of market power built up by big firms.
Tencent has already been offloading assets in response.
The value of its holdings in listed companies dropped to just $89 billion at the end of March - less than half the amount a year earlier.
Most of its stake in e-commerce titan JD.com was sold in December.
Shares in Hong Kong-listed Meituan dropped over 10% following the Reuters story.
Tencent dropped 2% before recovering.
Neither company would comment on the report.
