Freedom Holding Corp. is acquiring a 99.32% stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş. from Özyol Holding and the National Bank of Kuwait. The deal still has to be approved by Turkish regulators.
Deal details and development plans
The core of the deal is Turkish Bank A.Ş., which has operated in Turkey since 1982. Other subsidiaries of TurkishBank Group, the bank’s parent company, located in the U.K. and Cyprus, are not part of the transaction.
The acquisition of the bank will be a logical continuation of the infrastructure the holding has been developing in the region. In addition, Freedom operates another subsidiary in Turkey — Freedom Finansal Hizmetler, which has received permission to establish a brokerage company, Freedom Yatirim (Freedom Investment Securities Inc.).
Once the deal is closed, Freedom plans to invest in the digital transformation of the bank, technological upgrades and the expansion of its product line, with a focus on retail clients and small and medium-sized businesses.
According to Vladimir Pochekuev, partner at Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) and chair of the board of directors of Freedom Finansal Hizmetler, the acquisition of a Turkish bank provides the necessary infrastructure to support FRHC’s brokerage and investment capabilities. The deal is expected to strengthen the group as a provider of a comprehensive ecosystem of services, spanning banking, capital markets, payments and investment solutions.
TurkishBank Group Chairman Hakan Bortecene believes that Freedom’s digital capabilities and international platform will contribute to the development of the Turkish banking sector.
What has Freedom acquired?
Turkish Bank A.Ş. provides corporate, commercial and retail banking solutions. Its parent company, TurkishBank Group, is a private financial group with assets in Turkey, Northern Cyprus and the U.K. It’s been operating since 1901.
According to the Banks Association of Turkey, as of the end of 2024 (the latest consolidated data available), Turkish Bank ranked 39th out of 54 banks by assets, totaling $178 million.
According to the Turkish Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), the bank had $205 million in assets and $25 million in equity capital as of December 2025.
Development plans within the Freedom ecosystem
Freedom Holding CEO Timur Turlov revealed plans to enter the Turkish market in an interview with Bloomberg. He also said that the group is considering acquiring a local Turkish marketplace and issuing $500 million in bonds to fund these M&A deals.
The holding is also interested in purchasing assets in Kazakhstan. As Turlov noted, Freedom is prepared to acquire a local bank at a price below its book value (with $5 billion in assets and $500 million in capital) in order to integrate it into its ecosystem and gain access to its corporate client base.
Over the past 18 months, Freedom’s banking division has expanded its operations. It launched operations in Tajikistan in October 2024 and received permission from Kazakhstan’s regulator to open a subsidiary bank in Georgia in November 2025. The brokerage division is also expanding geographically. In December 2025, the company obtained a license in Abu Dhabi.
Alongside its financial sector expansion, the holding has also been acquiring assets in the telecommunications sector. In 2025, Freedom Telecom acquired ASTEL, a major Kazakhstani telecom provider, and successfully negotiated the acquisition of Transtelecom.
In January 2026, during a strategic session with the holding’s top managers, Turlov announced a major shift in the company’s development paradigm. The group has moved away from a service portfolio model toward building a unified digital infrastructure. The goal is to position Freedom as a key market player and trendsetter, shaping the rules of the region’s financial and digital markets.
