Freedom Holding Acquires Majority Stake in Online Supermarket Arbuz

Download as PDF

Purchase Will Bring e-Commerce Grocery Sales to the Freedom Group

ALMATY, Kazakhstan & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), a diversified multi-national financial services firm, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of an 82% ownership interest in Kazakhstan company “Arbuz Group” Limited Liability Partnership (“Arbuz”) from a group of private investors. The acquisition took place in several stages starting in March 2023.

Arbuz is an online supermarket and fresh food delivery service with operations in Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan. It has become a flagship marketplace in Kazakhstan's food-tech industry.

“As one of the largest domestic Internet websites in Kazakhstan, the Arbuz startup is also a major contributor to the development of the e-commerce sector in our country,” said Timur Turlov, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Holding. “Through the Freedom24 app which Freedom provides to its customers in Kazakhstan, Arbuz customers will now have enhanced service quality and advantageous bonus programs. This will enhance the entire Freedom ecosystem in Kazakhstan and strengthen our market position.” Mr. Turlov has personally been an investor in Arbuz since 2019. Mr. Turlov has retained an 18% ownership interest Arbuz following completion of the acquisition.

"I am proud of the achievements of our team, which was able to create and be a pioneer in the online supermarket industry in Kazakhstan within a few years,” said Alexey Lee, the founder and general director of Arbuz. “We have been able to maintain a unique position in the market and an understanding of its future potential. We actively planned the next phase of our development and consciously chose the offer made by Freedom out of several available options. Our future is bright as part of the Freedom ecosystem, which is close to us in culture, spirit, and quality.”

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp., a Nevada corporation, is a financial services holding company conducting retail securities brokerage, investment research, investment counseling, securities trading, investment banking and underwriting services, mortgages, insurance, and consumer banking through its subsidiaries, operating under the name Freedom Finance in Europe and Central Asia. Through its subsidiaries, Freedom Holding Corp. employs more than 2,900 people and is a professional participant in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Astana International Exchange, the Republican Stock Exchange of Tashkent, and the Uzbek Republican Currency Exchange and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Freedom Holding Corp. is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and has a presence through its subsidiaries in 15 countries, including among others Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and the United States.

Freedom Holding Corp.'s common shares are registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and are traded in the United States on the Nasdaq Capital Market, operated by Nasdaq, Inc.

To learn more about Freedom Holding Corp., visit www.freedomholdingcorp.com.

About Arbuz

The Arbuz.kz online supermarket was launched in 2011, and since then 205,000 customers have made purchases on the platform. In 2018, the Arbuz.kz project was led by a new team, headed by CEO Alexey Lee and COO Ruslan Pogorelov, who restarted the project and increased sales significantly. The current average number of deliveries per day is 2,500 - 3,000. The business operates using the supermarket model for delivery of food, drinks, household chemicals and household goods. The company has its own warehouses, assembly line and courier service. Arbuz plans to maintain and develop Arbuz.kz as the market leader in Kazakhstan in terms of quality, service and assortment.

Deborah Kostroun (US) – deborah@zitopartners.com
Tel.: +1 201 403-8185

Ramina Fakhrutdinova (KZ) – ramina.fakhrutdinova@ffin.kz
Tel.: +7 727 311 10 64, ext. 640
Mob.: +7 777 377 88 68

Source: Freedom Holding Corp.

Released June 20, 2023