Danish brewer Carlsberg on Tuesday announced an agreement to sell its shares in its Russian unit, a day after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending state control of the business.
Carlsberg, like many other Western firms, announced in March 2022 that it would leave Russia, where it employed 8,400 people, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
But a year later, Putin placed Carlsberg’s local unit, Baltica Breweries, under state management and the Danish firm’s chief executive, Jacob Arup-Andersen, announced that its Russian business had been “stolen”.
With Putin ending state control of Baltica, Carlsberg said in a statement on Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its shares in the local company for an undisclosed “cash consideration”.
Carlsberg will also acquire Baltica’s stake in Carlsberg Azerbaijan and Carlsberg Kazakhstan.
“The new controlling shareholder of Baltica Breweries will be a company that is equally owned by two long-time Baltica employees, who currently hold key positions in the company,” the statement said.
The transaction is expected to close “within the next two days.”
Arup-Andersen said, “Following the announcement of our intention to leave Russia in 2022, we have exhausted all options to find a way to fully exit Russia while protecting our employees, our assets and the value of the Carlsberg business.” given,” said Arup-Andersen. statement
He said the sale would settle “numerous lawsuits” and intellectual property rights issues.
“Given the circumstances, we believe this is the best achievable outcome for our employees, shareholders and continued business,” the CEO said.
