Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Fifteen international and national companies are taking part in the international privatization process of Universal Mobile Systems LLC (MobiUz), according to the Agency for State Asset Management.

The privatization of 100% of the state’s share in MobiUz’s authorized capital was announced on 9 June 2025.

As part of the deal preparation, strategic and financial advisor Rothschild & Co, together with financial consultant KPMG, held more than 100 individual meetings with potential strategic and financial investors.

By 1 August 2025, the advisors had received expressions of interest (EoI) from 15 companies from the United States, Europe, Arab countries, the Middle East, the South Caucasus, as well as Eastern and Central Asia.

All applications were reviewed for compliance with established criteria, including sufficient financial capacity, absence of legal barriers, compliance with anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, absence from sanctions lists, and non–state-owned status.

Following the review, all 15 companies were recommended to proceed to the next stage of privatization — submission of non-binding offers (NBO). The Agency for State Asset Management reserves the right to admit additional investors before the end of the NBO stage to enhance competition and process efficiency.

The NBO stage will require the signing of non-disclosure agreements (NDA), granting access to a virtual data room containing the information memorandum, financial model, and analytical materials on MobiUz’s operations, as well as the opportunity to conduct the necessary company analysis.

Advisors will send candidates detailed information on the NBO participation mechanism via a procedural letter. Submission of non-binding offers will remain open until 23:59 Tashkent time on 15 October 2025.

Uzbekistan expects to raise around US$300 million from the privatization of mobile operator MobiUz.

According to Fitch Solutions (BMI), by the end of 2024 the number of mobile subscribers in the country reached 35.6 million. MobiUz’s main competitors are Uztelecom, Coscom (Ucell), and Unitel (Beeline), the latter owned by Dubai-registered Veon Ltd.

In July 2025, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies announced that MobiUz’s subscriber base had exceeded 8 million.

In 2024, MobiUz’s revenue totaled $164 million, with EBITDA of $41 million. While Veon declined to comment on its participation in the privatization, the company noted that Uzbekistan remains a “key market” for them with a long-term development strategy.

The operator was established in 2014 as a joint venture between MTS and the Center for Radio Communications, Broadcasting, and Television (CRCBT). MTS exited the project in 2016, and since 2018 the company has been wholly owned by the state fund “Digital Trust.” In December 2019, the UMS brand was rebranded as MobiUz. Privatization discussions began in 2020, but specific sale timelines were formalized only by a presidential decree dated April 21, 2025.