Business
Armenian Group Moves to Buy Georgia's Terabank and Biltmore Tbilisi
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Luxembourg-registered AGE S.A., which operates within the ecosystem of Armenian businessman Karen Safaryan's Arins Group, has agreed to acquire Georgia's Terabank and the Biltmore Tbilisi hotel. The transactions were announced on 25 August by Terabank and AGE, and remain subject to approval by the National Bank of Georgia.
Terabank ranks sixth in Georgia by assets, which stood at GEL 2.27 billion, or roughly $835 million, in July 2026. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. The Biltmore Tbilisi, a landmark hotel on Rustaveli Avenue, cost approximately $140 million to construct and fit out according to figures cited by opposition politician Roman Gotsiridze.
The existing ownership explains the sale. Sheikh Nahayyan Mubarak Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates holds 80 percent of Terabank, Sheikh Mohamed Butti Al Hamed holds 15 percent, and the remaining 5 percent sits with Russian company Investment Trading Group LLC. Sheikh Nahayyan's investments also financed the Biltmore, which is why the bank and the hotel are moving together. The announcement was carried by ARKA.
Cross-border ownership in South Caucasus banking is not new, but Armenian capital acquiring a mid-sized Georgian bank is a first at this scale. It arrives as Georgia's foreign investment mix is shifting: total FDI fell 23 percent in the first half of 2026 while China became the largest single source. A large inbound acquisition from a neighbouring market cuts against that trend.
The residual Russian stake is the element regulators will examine most closely. Georgian banks operate under correspondent banking relationships that are sensitive to sanctions exposure, and the 5 percent holding has drawn attention in Georgian media coverage of the deal, including reporting by JAMnews. How that stake is treated at closing will shape the regulatory timetable.
For Terabank's corporate and retail customers, the immediate question is strategy rather than solvency. A sixth-ranked bank in a market dominated by TBC and Bank of Georgia needs a differentiated proposition to grow, and an owner with an Armenian business base may push the bank toward regional trade finance and cross-border payments — a niche the two market leaders serve, but not exclusively.
Nothing closes until the National Bank of Georgia rules. Until then, the deal is an indication of where regional capital thinks Georgian banking is undervalued.
