Naspers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naspers (NASDAQ: NPSN) is a South Africa-based multinational media company with principal operations in electronic media (including pay-television, internet and instant-messaging subscriber platforms and the provision of related technologies) and print media (including the publishing, distribution and printing of magazines, newspapers and books, and the provision of private education services).
Naspers’ most significant operations are located in South Africa, from where it generates approximately 72.7% of its revenues, but other significant operations located elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Greece, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United States, Thailand and China.
The strategy of Naspers is to create media content, build brand names around it, and manage the platforms distributing the content. Naspers then delivers its content in a variety of forms and through a variety of channels, including television, internet services, newspapers, magazines and books.
Naspers is divided into two core segments: electronic media and print media.
The electronic media arm of Naspers is MIH Holdings and controls Naspers' pay-television, internet and related technology activities. MIH Holdings either owns or operates pay-television and internet subscriber platforms in Africa, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand and China and contributed about 65.7% to Naspers’ total revenue and 74.6% to its operating profit in the 2005 fiscal year.
The print media arm of Naspers is Media24, which controls Naspers' newspaper and magazine publishing as well as printing activities but also includes the internet activities of Media24 Digital. Media24 is Africa's largest publisher, printer and distributor of magazines and related products as well as one of its largest newspaper publishers. The print media segment of Naspers contributed about 34.3% to Naspers’ total revenue and 27.2% of its operating profit in the 2005 fiscal year.
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[edit] History
Naspers was founded as De Nasionale Pers (The National Press) on 12 May 1915 with the aim of furthering the cause of the Afrikaner people. At first it only published a newspaper, De Burger, but soon expanded and in 1916 published its first magazine De Huisgenoot. In 1918 the company took a further step towards expansion when its book publishing operations were founded as De Burger Boekhandel.
In 1985, Nasionale Pers and a number of other South African media companies formed an electronic pay-television media business, M-Net, which was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1990. In 1993, M-Net was divided into two companies - M-Net itself became a pure pay-television station while the company's subscriber management, signal distribution and cellular telephone activities were formed into a new company called MultiChoice Limited (later renamed MIH Holdings Limited).
Nasionale Pers itself listed on JSE on 12 September 1994 and in 1998 the group's name changed to Naspers.
In 1997, MIH Ltd. created an internet service provider, M-Web Holdings.
In January 2000, Naspers merged its existing private education activities with that of another leading South African private education business to form Educor Holdings Limited - one of the leading private education providers in South Africa. During the same year, Naspers also re-organised and branded its print media business as its "Media24" division.
In May 2001, Naspers acquired a 46.5% interest in Tencent Holdings Limited, the operator of an instant messaging platform in China called QQ, which subsequently developed into the leading business of its kind in China. In a quest to further expand its business in China, the company acquired a 9.9% interest in the Beijing Media Corporation (“BMC”) in December 2004. BMC is a media company mainly engaged in the sale of advertising space for the Beijing Youth Daily as well as the production of newspapers and the trading of print-related materials.
In February 2005, Naspers acquired the South African internet interests of Tiscali. On 31 March 31 of the same year, Naspers consolidated all its print media, book publishing and private education assets in its Media24 division in order to simplify the group's structure.
In January 2007, Naspers acquired a 30% interest in MXit Lifestyle, the operator of a mobile instant messaging platform in South-Africa called MXit.[1]
In the last decades of the twentieth century Naspers thus became a profit-driven media house with a wide range of publications and other media channels. It now only generates only some 11% of its profits from Afrikaans language publications.
