The Uzbekistan National Investment Fund (UzNIF) has announced the results of its initial public offering (IPO). According to fund manager Franklin Templeton, the offering included ordinary shares and global depositary receipts (GDRs).
All securities were offered by the sole shareholder, the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry offered a total of 1.56 trillion shares, representing 31% of UzNIF's share capital. One GDR is equivalent to 64,700 shares.
Excluding GDRs that may be issued under the greenshoe option, the total amount raised was approximately $603.6 million. Including the greenshoe, the amount could reach $692 million, and the sold stake could increase to 35%.
The offer price was set at $25 per GDR and 4.65 soums per ordinary share. For eligible retail investors submitting orders up to 12 billion soums, the price was 4.41 soums per share (a 5% discount).
The offering consisted of two tranches: the Tashkent offering (47.94 billion shares, about 3% of total) and the international offering (23.44 million GDRs representing 1.516 trillion shares). Demand reportedly exceeded supply by more than four times.
Anchor investors included funds managed by BlackRock, Franklin Resources, Redwheel, and companies owned by the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation. They committed to purchasing GDRs worth a total of $300 million.
Conditional trading of GDRs on the London Stock Exchange is expected to begin on May 13, with unconditional trading around May 18. UzNIF shares will also trade on the Republican Stock Exchange 'Toshkent' under the ticker UZNF.
As of December 31, 2023, the fund's net asset value was $2.44 billion. The IPO resulted in a market capitalization of approximately $1.95 billion. UzNIF's portfolio includes minority stakes in 13 state-owned companies, such as Uzbekistan Airways and Uzbektelecom.
A strict dividend policy is cited as a key attraction for investors: portfolio companies are required to pay at least 50% of net profit as dividends until 2030. Separate IPOs for six of the fund's companies are planned by the end of 2028.
Source: www.gazeta.uz