c. $700m IPO –First International IPO of an Uzbekistan Issuer, Largest LSE IPO Since 2021
2026
IPO of UzNIF on LSE (GDRs) and Tashkent Stock Exchange – landmark dual-listing for Uzbekistan
- Flagship IPO privatisation for Uzbekistan – First international IPO of an Uzbekistan issuer and first dual listing between London and Tashkent, providing the first macro play opportunity for global equity investors to access Uzbekistan via a diversified, sovereign-backed investment vehicle.
- Large pre-marketing campaign through several rounds of investor meetings including NDRs and conferences (147 investors met)
- At ITF, a cornerstone tranche of high-quality global institutional investors representing c. USD 300m was announced - including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Redwheel and the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation, significantly de-risking the transaction
- Optimized valuation with a fixed-price offering at USD 25.00 per GDR (UZS 4.65 per share), representing a 20% discount to NAV, implying an all-in IPO discount of c. 5-10% (when removing the discount to NAV of 10-15% of EM listed funds) - implying a market capitalisation of c. USD 1.95bn, supported by strong conviction of cornerstones at a that pricing level
- Strong early bookbuilding momentum, with the books covered within one day of bookbuilding, reflecting broad international institutional participation alongside robust domestic demand
- Offering was multiple times oversubscribed with over 150 investors placing orders
- Well-controlled allocation strategy balancing global long-only institutions and a broad domestic shareholder base, designed to support aftermarket performance, liquidity and ownership quality
- Demand was dominated by UK and US investors, however the syndicate of 8 banks generated demand from a wide range of geographies in Central Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia
STJ value-added advice to Franklin Templeton
- Providing ongoing advice on all key IPO aspects: In the last 12 months, STJ acted as “home-team” advisor from early structuring through pricing, advising on equity story, timing, structure, sizing, valuation, investor targeting and allocation across a complex, multi-jurisdictional execution
- Optimising equity story: Active involvement in shaping the equity story, working through key investor challenges and ensuring consistent articulation of Uzbekistan’s reform trajectory, UzNIF’s scarcity value and portfolio quality
- One of the most comprehensive investor education programmes for a frontier-market equity: STJ structured 3 set of Early Look Meetings and Deep Dive Sessions with global institutional investors across the globe, building strong demand ahead of ITF
- Bespoke investor targeting: Use of STJ’s proprietary investor analytics to materially expand the institutional investor outreach - resulting in an well de-risked transaction. Post ITF, STJ proactively worked with the banks around individual investor targeting at PDIE and roadshow to ensure all possible relevant pockets of demand are tapped
- Controlled allocations: Acted on Franklin Templeton’s side of the table to provide an unbiased advice on book allocation in order to prioritise high-conviction long-only investors, as well as local investors (both retail and institutional) to support aftermarket stability and long-term ownership on both London and Tashkent lines
- Retail offering: STJ has structured a very successful retail tranche with a 5% discount which prompted a large inflow of demand, making it the largest retail offering in Uzbekistan
