JOHANNESBURG—Naspers Ltd., the little-known South African media outlet that grew into the continent’s largest company thanks to a phenomenal bet on Chinese internet giantTencent Holdings Ltd., is trying to remake itself again with a counterintuitive punt on the future of publishing: classified ads.
The conglomerate kicked off a new chapter in March when it sold down its stake in Tencent to 31.2% from 33.2%, giving it a $9.8 billion war chest. The company’s strategy is to bet the cash on some not-so-sexy categories, such as...