Dentons acted as Uzbek legal counsel to the underwriters in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of “National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan” JSC (UzNIF) and its dual listing on the Republican Stock Exchange “Toshkent” and the London Stock Exchange. The Firm advised a consortium of leading international and domestic financial institutions, comprising Jefferies International Limited as Sole Global Coordinator, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Auerbach Grayson and Company LLC, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, and WOOD & Company Financial Services, a.s. as Joint Bookrunners, as well as ALKES Research LLC, Avesta Investment Group LLC, and Bluestone Financial Group Inc LLC JV as Domestic Managers.
The transaction comprised an offering of ordinary shares to retail and institutional investors in Uzbekistan through the Republican Stock Exchange “Toshkent”, and a parallel offering of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) to international institutional investors on the London Stock Exchange. This dual listing represents the first international public equity offering from Uzbekistan and a defining milestone in the country’s capital markets development. It reflects the Republic of Uzbekistan’s ongoing commitment to promoting international integration, broadening investment opportunities, and strengthening the regulatory and institutional framework for public offerings and securities listings.
Tashkent-based partners Eldor Mannopov and Fayzulla Khusankhodjaev led Dentons’ legal team, with support from Counsel Sanjar Narzullaev, Senior Associate Sitora Sobirova, and Associates Saidrakhim Ibadullaev and Ezozakhon Shukhratiya.
Dentons provided comprehensive Uzbek law advice across all phases of the transaction. The team’s scope of work covered structuring matters and legal considerations pertaining to the dual listing framework, regulatory and capital markets analysis, legislative groundwork in connection with the relevant Presidential Decrees, legal due diligence on the portfolio companies of UzNIF, and the preparation of transaction documentation from the underwriters’ perspective.
Eldor Mannopov, Uzbekistan Managing Partner at Dentons, commented, “This transaction reinforces Dentons’ leading role in landmark capital markets deals in Uzbekistan and our sustained engagement in shaping the country’s legal framework for complex cross-border and domestic securities offerings. We remain committed to advising clients on high-profile transactions that contribute to the growth and internationalization of Uzbekistan’s financial markets.”
