MobiUz Sale a Landmark for Central Asia Investment Market, Analyst Says

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The sale of Uzbekistan's state-owned mobile operator MobiUz to a United States-led investor consortium is set to become a landmark not only for the country's telecommunications sector but for the entire Central Asian investment market, Alpari analyst Anna Bodrova said Wednesday.

"We are not talking simply about a change of ownership," Bodrova said. "The winning bidder has committed to investing a further $500 million in infrastructure development — substantially more than the acquisition price itself — which signals that investors assess the growth potential of the country's telecoms market as high and are counting on a long-term presence."

The infrastructure commitment, Bodrova argued, is the most telling aspect of the deal. At nearly 43 percent above the $351 million purchase price, it reflects a forward-looking bet on Uzbekistan's mobile sector rather than a straightforward asset acquisition.

The competitive structure of the process was equally significant, she said. "The level of competition and transparency in this tender substantially raises the degree of foreign investor confidence in Uzbek assets. The deal also confirms that the country is gradually integrating into the global capital market."

For the broader economy, the implications extend well beyond telecommunications. "Attracting strategic capital will help the state accelerate infrastructure modernization without additional pressure on the budget," Bodrova said. She also pointed to the macroeconomic backdrop: "Against the backdrop of Fitch's recent upgrade of Uzbekistan's sovereign credit outlook to Positive, deals like this reinforce the country's investment appeal — and a successful case of this kind could attract foreign capital into other sectors of the economy as well."

Background

The State Assets Management Agency awarded 100 percent of Universal Mobile Systems — the legal entity operating under the MobiUz brand — to a consortium of financial investors led by McKim and Company, with JVR Enterprises LLC, doing business as JVR Capital Group, participating as the industry technology partner. Both firms are based in the United States. The winning bid implies an enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple of 7.4 times, which the agency said exceeds the valuation determined by the independent assessor and compares favorably with benchmark transactions in the sector.

The sale was conducted as an open international competitive tender. Rothschild and Co served as strategic adviser, KPMG as financial adviser, and Deloitte as independent valuator. More than 15 investors from the United States, Japan, Gulf states, Europe, and the South Caucasus participated, with ten submitting initial price offers and six binding bids ultimately received. Deal information was published in Bloomberg and the Financial Times and presented at international roadshows.

Bodrova's reference to Fitch carries weight in context. The rating agency revised its outlook on Uzbekistan's long-term issuer default rating to Positive from Stable on June 3, citing accelerating privatisation as one of the key drivers. From 2021 through 2025, approximately $5.1 billion in state assets were sold, including $1.6 billion in 2025 alone — a pace the MobiUz transaction is set to extend.

Closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of applicable corporate and legal procedures.