Freedom Holding Corp. acquires the services Aviata and Chocotravel

Freedom Holding Corp. is acquiring 100% of the shares in the Aviata and Chocotravel services from Choco Holding. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The total transaction value is $32.3 million.

Timur Turlov, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Holding Corp.

The air and rail ticket sales sector, both for domestic and international routes, is showing positive trends. Kazakhstani carriers have fully restored passenger traffic and are demonstrating steady growth. In 2022, Kazakhstani airlines transported a record 11 million passengers, which is 17% more than the previous year and twice the level of the pandemic year 2020.

Aviata.kz and Chocotravel.com are considered the most automated agencies in the CIS region, according to Amadeus. 76% of all ticket refund operations are processed instantly and automatically, making the product convenient and secure for frequent flyers.

Nikolai Mazentsev, Chief Executive Officer of Choco Holding

Last year, we revised the Holding's strategy and decided to focus exclusively on projects related to delivery and advertising technologies for businesses. Since then, we have sold the Lensmark.kz online lens store and the ioka.kz payment system. Following the sale of Aviata.kz and Chocotravel, the Holding will have sufficient resources to repay 100% of its private and public debt and actively invest in the development of strategically important projects for us. We are proud to have built the best travel product on the market, capable of finding prices and flight options that are not available at other agencies.

Aviata.kz and Chocotravel.com are among the most recognizable brands in the Kazakhstani travel market. According to a study by Fusion Lab, the GFK representative office in Kazakhstan, they have a very high level of spontaneous brand awareness, with a top-of-mind share of 24.7% among Kazakhstani residents. The company has a strong B2B product used by more than 1,200 large companies. The EUSAT service quality assessment shows that 96% of respondents gave five stars.