Halyk Bank to Acquire Nearly Half of Uzbek Payment Network

Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank, controlled by Timur and Dinara Kulibayev through the ALMEX holding group, has agreed to acquire a stake in one of Uzbekistan’s leading payment systems, Orda.kz reports.

According to information published on KASE, Halyk Bank has entered into a strategic agreement with Uzbek company Click JSC. Under the deal, the bank will purchase 49% of Click’s shares and, in return, sell a similar 49% stake in its Uzbek subsidiary, Tenge Bank, to Click’s shareholders.

The terms of the deal are not equal: Halyk Bank will pay $176.4 million for the Click shares, while the 49% stake in Tenge Bank will be sold for just $60.76 million—nearly three times less. All legal entities involved will remain independent. The transactions are expected to close once financial regulators in both countries grant approval.

Click is one of Uzbekistan’s top payment systems and has developed its own digital platform for cashless payments. Founded in 2011, the company’s supervisory board includes businessmen Ilkhom Azimov and Jakhongir Usmanov.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny