ForteBank has found a new investor to buy its leasing subsidiary ForteLeasing for 16.59 billion tenge. The financial institution's board of directors revised the terms of the planned agreement, replaced the original buyer and pushed back the expected final closing of the deal to mid-2027, according to the bank's interim condensed consolidated financial statements, infohub.kz reports.
ForteBank's board approved the replacement of the originally intended buyer on June 30, 2026. The key parameters of the sale remained unchanged: the bank will transfer 100% of ForteLeasing's shares (4.56 million ordinary securities) for 16.589 billion tenge. The name of the new investor is not disclosed in the statements.
The change of buyer affected the timeline for the disposal. After the initial decision of April 30, 2026, the bank had expected to close the deal by the end of the first quarter of 2027, but it now plans to complete the sale within 12 months of the new reporting date — that is, by June 30, 2027, or the end of the second quarter.
In addition, transferring the company to a new owner will require the bank to recognize a loss. Because the market sale price turned out to be below the asset's carrying value, ForteBank recorded an impairment loss on ForteLeasing of 1.109 billion tenge under "Other expenses."
The net assets of the divested company, before deducting internal balances, amounted to 44.25 billion tenge, while its carrying value stood at 17.7 billion tenge.
ForteLeasing conducts leasing operations in Kazakhstan. In its latest interim statements, the bank reclassified the business as assets held for sale.
Recall that on December 30, 2025, ForteBank completed its acquisition of 100% of Home Credit Bank's shares. It later emerged that the bank's investment in Home Credit Bank as of December 31, 2025, amounted to 273.8 billion tenge.
ForteBank's majority owner is billionaire Bulat Utemuratov. According to Forbes, he ranks third among Kazakhstan's wealthiest people, with an estimated fortune of $5.4 billion.