In March 2022, Armenia’s Armbusinessbank announced a major capital increase. According to the official press release on banks.am, the Swiss company MFM Global Invest Ltd increased the bank’s capital by an impressive sum—AMD 96 billion (about $188 million). Alongside it, the Armenian fund “Home for youth” contributed AMD 32 billion ($63 million) in cash.
However, looking “under the hood” of this deal reveals an even more interesting picture of how modern investment mechanisms work. Presumably, contrary to a literal reading of the news, MFM Global Invest Ltd did not contribute $188 million in “live” cash directly to the bank. Instead, it may have contributed units (shares) of the Liechtenstein-based alternative investment fund Halcon Innovation Fund (part of Halcon Investment SICAV) to the bank’s capital.
These units are not just paper. As we discovered from the fund’s report, they have an international ISIN code, and their value was confirmed by an independent valuation. In essence, the fund valued its 75% stake in Armbusinessbank—held through a complex structure—at that same $188 million.
Thus, the real cash flow in the deal was $63 million from the Armenian fund “Home for youth.” These funds, with the consent of the Central Bank of Armenia, became a real increase in the bank’s liquidity. The Swiss investor’s contribution, presumably, was non-monetary but rather intellectual and property-based: it involved transferring control of an established banking business, valued by the market and the regulator at $188 million. This is a classic example of financial engineering, where fund units backed by a real asset are accepted as a valid contribution to share capital. The Armenian partner effectively “earned” $63 million by injecting real cash into a bank now backed by a stronger, internationally-valued shareholder.
Key takeaway for investors: The Armbusinessbank deal clearly demonstrates that in the modern world, you can buy a bank not only with “live” money but also by contributing properly structured and valued ownership stakes in the bank itself. Units of investment funds, like the Liechtenstein-based Halcon, are a legitimate financial instrument capable of serving as “currency” for major acquisitions.