Uzbekistan Debuts Largest London IPO, First Global Equity Offer
The National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) has successfully completed its initial public offer (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange and Tashkent Stock Exchange, the first ever global equity offering from Uzbekistan.
UzNIF owns strategic stakes in 13 of the country’s state-owned enterprises across energy and utilities, telecommunications, banking and transportation. The fund is managed by Franklin Templeton, which has over $1.7trn in assets under management.
The offering raised $604 million, which could rise to $692m (if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), from the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan’s sale of up to a 35% stake. On admission, UzNIF had a market capitalisation at the offering price of $1.95bn.
The fund listed Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange, enabling access to institutional investors outside of Uzbekistan. The GDRs commenced conditional trading on 13 May 2026, with unconditional trading to commence on 18 May 2026.
BlackRock, Franklin Resources, Redwheel, and the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation acted as cornerstone investors buying $300m of UzNIF’s GDRs in the IPO.
The transaction is the largest London IPO to date in 2026 and the largest closed-ended fund IPO in London since 2021. It is the second largest European IPO so far this year.
