Wildberries Acquires Stake in UzPost

Description:

The merged entity Wildberries & Russ (RVB LLC) has acquired the state-owned stake in Uzbekistan's national postal service provider UzPost. The deal, which has been in preparation for several months, marks a new chapter in the development of Uzbekistan's postal and logistics infrastructure.

Key Transaction Details:

Official details of the transaction remain undisclosed — neither the Government of Uzbekistan, the State Assets Management Agency, nor Wildberries itself has commented on the privatization terms. The transaction amount remains confidential.

In June, UzPost's list of affiliated entities underwent significant changes: Aloqabank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance were excluded, replaced by the State Assets Management Agency and the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan. In September, a 25% stake in UzPost, originally intended for the National Investment Fund, was transferred to the State Assets Management Agency.

Market Response and Competition:

Concurrent with the privatization news, digital ecosystem Uzum announced its readiness to invest in UzPost's infrastructure modernization. Uzum founder and CEO Jasur Jumaev stated plans to expand the network of partner pickup points to over 1,000 locations by 2026. The company intends to invest more than $1.5 billion in the Uzbek market over the next 3–4 years, including logistics development jointly with UzPost.

Strategic Significance:

UzPost noted that amid declining demand for traditional postal services and rapid e-commerce growth, requirements for technological advancement and service convenience are increasing. Attracting investment will enable infrastructure modernization, digital solutions implementation, expansion of the branch network in rural areas, and creation of modern parcel processing facilities. This will strengthen the operator's competitiveness and support e-commerce development across the country.