TBILISI (Reuters) -Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank has agreed a deal to buy a 49% stake in Uzbek payment provider Click for $176.4 million in exchange for Click purchasing a 49% stake in Halyk’s Uzbek subsidiary, Tenge Bank, for $60.76 million, the companies said on Wednesday.
Listed in Kazakhstan and with its global depositary receipts trading on the London Stock Exchange, Halyk Bank is Central Asia’s largest banking group, while Click is one of Uzbekistan’s major payment providers.
Just over 28% of Halyk Bank’s shares are held by institutional investors, including leading funds from the United States, Britain, Europe and Asia.
Click says it has a customer base of 20 million, accounting for around half of Uzbekistan’s population. The deal is subject to regulatory approval in both countries.
Central Asia’s most populous country, Uzbekistan has embarked on economic reforms since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016, even as he maintains tight control over the country’s politics.
Under Mirziyoyev, Tashkent has aimed to foster a domestic tech scene, as well as privatise large, state-run companies.
(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Alexander Marrow and Jane Merriman)
