© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People sit under signage for Carlsberg beer at a terrace in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 30, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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(Reuters) – Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they take action to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and respond to threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.
Below are some of the companies by sector that have secured deals to sell their businesses in Russia:
AUTOS
CONTINENTAL AG
The car parts manufacturer said on May 22 it has sold its Russian tyre plant to Russian holding company S8 Capital.
RENAULT The French carmaker sold its majority stake in Avtovaz to the Russian state in 2022, reportedly for only one rouble but with a six-year option to buy it back.
Renault (EPA:)’s RCI Banque division said on August 14 it had agreed the sale of its Russian leasing subsidiary to Insight Investment Group LLC, but did not disclose any details regarding the agreement.
VOLKSWAGEN
The German carmaker said on May 19 it has completed the sale of its Kaluga production plant and its local subsidiaries to Art-Finance LLC, supported by autodealer group Avilon.
BANKS
SOCIETE GENERALE The French bank sold its Russia business Rosbank in May of last year to Russia’s Interros Capital, taking a 3.1 billion euro ($3.38 billion) hit.
ENERGY
BASF
The German chemicals group said in January it would take a 7.3 billion euro writedown as its Wintershall Dea energy business pulls out of Russia. BASF owns 67% of the voting rights in Wintershall, with the rest being held by Letter One, a holding company controlled by Mikhail Fridman.
SHELL
The British energy and petrochemical company last year completed the sale of its Russian retail and lubricants business to Russia’s Lukoil.
Russia’s government has approved the sale of Shell (LON:)’s former 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion roubles, a government order showed on April 12.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
AB INBEV
The brewer said on April 22, 2022 it would sell its non-controlling stake in its Russian joint venture AB InBev Efes, taking a $1.1 billion impairment charge.
HEINEKEN
Dutch brewer Heineken (OTC:) said on August 25 it had completed its exit from Russia by selling its operations there to Russia’s Arnest Group for a symbolic one euro.
MINING
KINROSS
The Toronto-based miner in June last year sold all of its Russian assets to the Highland Gold Mining Group for $340 million in cash, half of the previously announced price.
RESTAURANTS & RETAIL
AMREST
The restaurant operator said on May 15 it has completed the sale of its KFC restaurant business in Russia to Smart Service for 100 million euros.
AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP
The Russian business of Authentic Brands Group-owned Reebok has been taken over by Turkey’s FLO retailing, Kommersant daily reported in May of last year.
INDITEX
Russian government had approved a deal for Spain’s Inditex (BME:) to sell its Russian business to a UAE-based buyer. Inditex had more than 500 stores in the country and agreed to sell them in October.
MCDONALD’S CORP
The U.S.-based restaurant chain sold last year its business in Russia after more than 30 years of operating in the country, taking a charge of $1.28 billion.
OTHERS
ESSITY
The Swedish hygiene company said on July 17 it had completed the divestment of its Russian operations for about 1.2 billion Swedish crowns ($117.34 million) to New Technologies LLC, whose principal owner is Igor Shilov.
HENKEL
The consumer goods company said in April it has sold its business in Russia for around 600 million euros to a consortium of local financial investors.
HUHTAMAKI
The Finnish maker of packaging for food and beverages sold its operations in Russia in September for 151 million euros to Espetina Ltd, a company belonging to the owner of McDonald’s (NYSE:) former restaurants in Russia.
IMPERIAL BRANDS
The British tobacco group announced the transfer of its Russian business to investors based in Russia in April 2022.
MAERSK
The shipping and logistics group has agreed to sell its two logistics sites in Russia to IG Finance Development Limited.
In August last year, Maersk sold a 30.75% stake in Russian port operator Global Ports Investments to Russia’s largest container operator Delo Group.
MONDI
The British paper and packaging firm said on July 3 it had completed the sale of three Russian packaging converting operations to Gotek Group for 1.6 billion roubles ($18 million).
In June, Mondi (LON:) terminated a 95 billion rouble deal to sell its largest plant in Russia, Mondi Syktyvkar, due to a “lack of progress” in getting approvals.
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
The French electrical equipment maker closed the sale of its operations in Russia to local management in September last year.
STORA ENSO
The Finnish forestry firm has completed its exit from Russia with the sale of three corrugated packaging plants to local management, it said on May 16, 2022.
YIT
The Finnish builder completed the sale of its businesses in Russia to Etalon Group in May 2022.
UNIQA INSURANCE GROUP
Austria’s Uniqa and Raiffeisen Bank are to sell their stakes in Raiffeisen Life to Russian insurer Renaissance Life, the Austrian insurer said on August 24.
