Naspers said the sale was for strengthening its balance sheet and to boost growth in its e-commerce business.

On Friday, Naspers, a South Africa-based multinational internet and media group, stated it has raised $9.8 billion by selling 2% of its holdings in China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. A move, it described as being aimed at strengthening its balance sheet as well as fund growth in its e-commerce businesses.

On Thursday however, Naspers had stated had no plans on reducing its holding, in Tencent, for the next three years, which disappointed some investors who had called for spinning off its 33% stake in China’s biggest internet firm so as to narrow the widening gap between its own market value and the investment.

With the news reaching the market, Naspers’ shares were down by 4.45% to 3,153 rand, while Tencent’s shares were by down 4.51%, wiping $24 billion off its market value.

After the sale, Naspers stated it sold 190 million shares in Tencent via an accelerated book-building process, which saw its stake reduced to 31.2% in Tencent.

Naspers sold its Tencent’s shares at HK$405, at a discount of 7.8% to Tencent’s closing price on Thursday.