The State Assets Management Agency (SAMA) announced the sale of the 2.6% government-owned stake in UzBAT tobacco manufacturer to The British-based BAT Uzbekistan Investment.

The parties executed the transaction on the Nego over-the-counter (OTC) market. The price per share was estimated at 420,395.78 soums, with a par value of 121,233.8 soums ($10 at the Central Bank exchange rate). The British-based BAT Uzbekistan Investment received 641,661 shares of the company (2.6036% of the total). The price stood at to 269.75 billion soums.

According to the SAMA, the transaction was part of the 2025 privatization program and was aligned the Article 6 of the Joint-Stock Companies and the Protection of Shareholder Rights Law. The Law, in particular, stipulates that if there are no more than 50 shareholders and a relevant provision in the company's charter, the seller is obligated to notify other shareholders of the intention to sell the shares and grant them a preemptive right to purchase.

"The government-owned stake was appraised with the assistance of an independent appraisal organization. While, BAT Uzbekistan (Investment) Limited (UK), a foreign shareholder in UZBAT, expressed its intention to exercise its preemptive right and acquire the stake," the statement reads.

On September 29, the agency and the investor signed a sale agreement. According to SAMA, the proceeds were transferred to the agency's Privatization Fund and then to the national budget.

UzBAT's revenue topped 3.519 trillion soums in 2024, recording an increase of 20.1% compared to the previous year. Gross profit reached 2.22 trillion soums (+21.5%), and operating profit increased by more than a third to 1.58 trillion soums.

Including other income, the tobacco manufacturers’ net profit topped 1.41 trillion soums, a 39.5% increase from the previous year. The company paid over 224 billion soums in income taxes.

In the end of 2024, UzBAT’s shareholders received 929.21 billion soums in dividends, equivalent to 37,700 soums per share. By the end of August, 568.58 billion soums, or 61.2% of the total dividends, had been paid.

While, the company was the 8th largest taxpayer in the country (the top among private companies), on 2.94 trillion soums.