Uzbekistan approves Tapuz Limited’s acquisition of OLX Classifieds LLC, subject to regulatory conditions to preserve competition. The deal combines a major online marketplace with leading digital financial services, shaping Uzbekistan’s digital market.
Approval for Tapuz Limited to Acquire OLX Classifieds LLC
Uzbekistan’s Competition Development and Consumer Protection Committee has granted preliminary approval for Tapuz Limited to acquire a 100% stake in OLX Classifieds LLC, the operator of one of the country’s most widely used online marketplace platforms. The approval is subject to a set of regulatory conditions designed to preserve market competition across Uzbekistan’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Regulatory Approval and Its Conditions
The Competition Committee’s approval is not unconditional. The regulator has imposed a series of requirements on Tapuz Limited that are designed to prevent the combined entity from using its market position to restrict competition or disadvantage users. Both Payme and OLX are listed on Uzbekistan’s national register of companies holding dominant positions in the digital platforms market a designation that brings specific obligations under competition law.
What the Acquisition Means for Uzbekistan’s Digital Market
The strategic logic behind the OLX acquisition is straightforward. OLX Uzbekistan is one of the country’s most visited online platforms, used by millions of consumers and small businesses for buying, selling, and trading goods and services. Integrating this marketplace reach with TBC Bank Group’s financial services infrastructure creates a platform with compelling potential for embedded financial services credit at the point of sale, payment processing for marketplace transactions, and financial products tailored to the needs of small merchants operating through classifieds.
Source : Uzbek Regulator Clears TBC Bank Group’s Acquisition of OLX Uzbekistan