Uzum, one of the largest ecosystems of digital services in Uzbekistan, and Click, a leading payments company, announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement on a future merger. Upon completion of the transaction, which is now expected to close, Click’s shareholders will receive a minority stake in parent company Uzum and will be represented on the board of directors. Click’s teams will maintain their operational autonomy and will gradually be integrated into the Uzum ecosystem. This transaction aims to strengthen Uzum’s dominant position in all major verticals (i.e. finance, payments and commerce) and create a common base of over 13 million users in Uzbekistan.
“The combination of favourable factors, including a positive demographic trend and the increasing penetration of smartphones and mobile internet, bodes well for the explosive growth of digital services in Uzbekistan,” said Djasur Djumaev, CEO of Uzum. Our mission is to ensure that people across Uzbekistan have access to a wide range of goods, convenient payment options and fast, technology-enabled access to financial services. There is no doubt that the combination of the two outstanding teams with their unique operational expertise, superior client experience and world-class talent pools represents a critical milestone in achieving this goal. This transaction will add significant value by generating unique synergies, resulting in an enhanced customer experience.
“During the negotiations with Uzum, we saw that our strategies and goals match. Therefore, we are excited about the merger with the Uzum ecosystem and see great prospects for the future. “The merger of two great companies with such a wide range of capabilities will allow us to leverage each other’s resources and embark on a new ambitious task – creating a product that is unparalleled in this country,” said Ulugbek Rustamov, CEO of Click, “Click will, of course, continue to work on its current plans, including funding projects, various government service integration initiatives, support for the tourism sector and much more.”
Today, every third resident of Uzbekistan uses the Click payment system. The service processes over 37 million transactions per month and the application has been downloaded by 9 million iOS and Android users since its launch. The two companies plan to develop a super app based on Click that will integrate the functionality of different services in one ecosystem.
The Uzum ecosystem currently includes Uzum Market, a leading multi-product marketplace with one-day delivery, Uzum Bank and other banking services, Sharia-compliant BNPL instalment payment service Uzum Nasiya and Uzum Tezkor, the online food delivery service for restaurants and grocery stores.
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