Naspers and Prosus honour Cobus Stofberg’s retirement, recognising his significant contributions and leadership in transforming the companies over the decades. Naspers and Prosus have officially announced Cobus Stofberg’s retirement as a non-executive director from both company boards.
Stofberg’s association with South Africa’s largest JSE-listed company began in 1985. Before joining Naspers, he was a chartered accountant and partner at Coopers and Lybrand (now known as PwC).
His journey at Naspers commenced when his university friend, Koos Bekker, invited him and Jac van der Merwe to present M-Net to Napers chairman, Ton Vosloo. This pay-TV service eventually transformed into what we now know as DStv’s parent company, MultiChoice, during the 1990s. Although he was instrumental in Napers’ international expansion, he preferred to remain out of the media spotlight.
From 1985 to 2011, Stofberg held several key positions, including financial manager, chief operating officer, and chief executive of various companies within the Naperss and Prosus portfolios.
From 1997 until 2011, he served as CEO of MIH Holdings, managing most of Naspers’ assets. Stofberg also briefly acted as the interim CEO of Naspers during Bekker’s sabbatical in 2007 and was a director at Nethold, the company’s European pay-TV division sold to Canal+ in the 1990s.
He has been a director at Naspers since October 2013 and joined the Prosus board in August 2019.
Following his retirement announcement, Naspers and Prosus chairman Koos Bekker praised Stofberg for his critical role in the companies’ growth, stating, “We owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”
Naspers and Prosus’ boards appreciated Stofberg’s dedication and impactful contributions over the years, noting, “His insights and unique perspective were highly regarded and will be greatly missed.”
Stofberg’s 0.227% shareholding in Naspers is estimated to be worth US$123 million, making him one of the wealthiest investors on the JSE. Additionally, he owns US$68.4 million in Prosus shares, bringing his combined stake in both companies to approximately US$191.4 million.
