[1/4] Volkswagen is pictured during the 63rd Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen AG in Berlin, Germany May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
May 19 (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 deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.
The moves, part of a broader corporate exodus from Russia, are likely to prompt concerns that Russian companies and institutions are snapping up prize assets at bargain prices.
Below are some of the companies by sector that have secured deals to sell their businesses in Russia:
AUTOS
CONTINENTAL AG (CONG.DE)
The car parts manufacturer said on May 22 it has sold its Russian tyre plant to Russian holding company S8 Capital.
RENAULT (RENA.PA)
The French carmaker sold its majority stake in Avtovaz (AVAZI_p.MM) to the Russian state in 2022, reportedly for only one rouble but with a six-year option to buy it back.
VOLKSWAGEN (VOWG_p.DE)
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 (SOGN.PA)
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 (BASFn.DE)
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 (SHEL.L)
The British energy and petrochemical company last year completed the sale of its Russian retail and lubricants business to Russia’s Lukoil (LKOH.MM).
Russia’s government has approved the sale of Shell’s former 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek (NVTK.MM) for 94.8 billion roubles, a government order showed on April 12.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
AB INBEV (ABI.BR)
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.
CARLSBERG (CARLb.CO)
Carlsberg, the Western brewer most exposed to Russia, said last year it expected a writedown of about 9.9 billion Danish crowns after announcing a sale of its business in the country.
Carlsberg said it expects to have found a buyer and signed an agreement by June.
MINING
KINROSS (K.TO)
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 (EATP.WA)
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 (AUTH.N)
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 (ITX.MC)
Russian government had approved a deal for Spain’s Inditex (ITX.MC) 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 (MCD.N)
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
HENKEL (HNKG.DE)
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 (HUH1V.HE)
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 former restaurants in Russia.
IMPERIAL BRANDS (IMB.L)
The British tobacco group announced the transfer of its Russian business to investors based in Russia in April 2022.
MAERSK (MAERSKb.CO)
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.
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (SCHN.PA)
The French electrical equipment maker closed the sale of its operations in Russia to local management in September last year.
STORA ENSO (STERV.HE)
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 (YIT.HE)
The Finnish builder completed the sale of its businesses in Russia to Etalon Group in May 2022.
Compiled by Augustin Turpin, Agnieszka Gosciak, Matteo Allievi, Tristan Veyet and Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Mark Potter, Jan Harvey, Andrew Heavens, Sriraj Kalluvila, Jane Merriman and Christina Fincher
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