The International Bank of Azerbaijan (ABB) has acquired a 51% controlling stake in private joint-stock commercial bank Davr Bank. The total value of the transaction, recorded on the Republican Stock Exchange “Toshkent”, amounted to 1.646 trillion soums (about $140 million).
According to stock exchange data, the transaction was structured and completed on September 10 through a series of six consecutive deals. In total, ABB purchased 51 million ordinary shares at a single price of 32,281.28 soums per share.
On August 23, the completion of ABB’s acquisition of a stake in Davr Bank was announced. The deal was mentioned in a video about joint projects shown during a meeting between Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The leaders of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan then took part in an online ceremony to open and lay the foundations for Azerbaijani investment projects in Uzbekistan. Davr Bank was among three projects launched at the ceremony. Speaking to the media, Aliyev said that “a leading Azerbaijani bank has entered the Uzbek market”.
A day earlier, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov announced ABB’s entry into Uzbekistan’s banking market at the 4th Forum of Regions of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in Tashkent.
“Today, an agreement will be signed with ABB, the largest bank in Azerbaijan and the entire South Caucasus region, marking the bank’s entry into the Uzbek market through a partnership and the acquisition of a stake in Davr Bank”, the Azerbaijani minister said.
Jabbarov expressed gratitude to Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the regulator, the Central Bank and the government of Uzbekistan for creating a favorable investment environment and supporting the implementation of the project.
On August 27, the Tashkent Stock Exchange announced the resumption of trading in Davr Bank ordinary shares, 5.5 years after they were removed from the exchange’s quotation list. The securities, with the code UZ7050240009, were included in the list under the ticker DRBK. Trading began on August 28.
What is known about the deal
In May, it became known that in the second half of the year, the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan planned to acquire Uzbekistan’s Davr Bank and begin operations in the Uzbek market. The Azerbaijani state bank intended to acquire a 51% stake in Davr Bank for $100 million.
In June, Davr Bank shareholders approved the continuation of negotiations with ABB over the possible sale of a 51% stake in the bank.
According to the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations, private joint-stock commercial bank Davr Bank was registered in September 2001. Its founders are several individuals.
The largest stake, 46.9%, belongs to Lutfulla Khayrullaevich Ubaev, Chairman of the bank’s Supervisory Board. Another 13.5% of the shares are held by Mahfuza Abdumalikovna Ubaeva, who has the same surname. The bank is headed by Abdumajid Abduakhitovich Samadov.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
