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TBC Bank Group PLC on Tuesday said it has agreed to acquire the remaining 49% of digital payment provider Payme for $55.7 million from the founding shareholders. The Tbilisi, Georgia-headquartered bank said the deal follows the agreement made upon its acquisition of 51% of the business in 2019. Payme, the operating brand of LLC Inspired, TBC’s 51%-owned subsidiary, is the leading digital payment provider in Uzbekistan for individuals and small businesses, with the exercise price of the option based on pre-determined parameters agreed at the time. The acquisition will be paid in cash, TBC said, with the figure indicating that Payme’s total value is $113.6 million. Chief Executive Vakhtang Butskhrikidze said: ‘We are delighted to be completing the minority buyout of Payme, giving us 100% ownership of this dynamic payments platform. This acquisition is in line with our previously outlined expansion strategy in Uzbekistan to create a leading fintech ecosystem. It will allow us to capture the strong synergy potential between the payments business and our digital bank, TBC UZ, by leveraging a large user base and a diverse product range. ‘I strongly believe that our joint efforts in these two businesses will accelerate the achievement of our mid-term targets for our Uzbek operations: return of equity of at least 30%, monthly active users of 5 million, and 10-15% share of the Group’s net income.’ TBC shares were flat at 2,430.00 pence each in London on Tuesday afternoon. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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