Kuaishou shares slide after $2.6b stake cut

Shares of Kuaishou Technology (1024) fell over 6 percent at one point yesterday after Tencent (0700) reduced its stake in the Chinese short-video platform by distributing 51.16 million of its shares with an estimated worth of HK$2.64 billion.

Tencent said the stake cut was mainly at the request of its external partners and Tencent itself has not reduced its holdings in Kuaishou.

According to a filing, Parallel Nebula Investment distributed 51 million shares of Kuaishou on April 13, which led Tencent's stake in Kuaishou to fall from 20.46 percent to 19.02 percent.

PNI is indirectly controlled by Tencent Plus Partners, which deals with the tech giant's external partners. After the cut, PNI's holdings in Kuaishou fell by around 1.4 percent, while Tencent's remained unchanged if excluding TPP, according to the filing.

The reduction reminded investors of Tencent's previous cuts in JD.com (9618) and Meituan (3690) by share distribution. Kuaishou's shares closed 5.2 percent lower at HK$49 apiece yesterday .