Carlsberg, the largest brewing company in Russia, is quitting the Russian market

Danish brewing giant Carlsberg has signed an agreement to sell its Russian subsidiary. Despite the fact that production in Russia under this brand stopped in early 2022, it took the corporation more than a year to realize its decision to quit the Russian market. The buyer and the deal price were not announced.

It was reported by Bloomberg

"Carlsberg Group today signed an agreement to sell its Russian business. The separation of the Russian business from the rest of the Carlsberg Group has been very complicated, including around 150 work streams across business functions and more than DKK 150m investments in brewery equipment and IT infrastructure in markets outside Russia," the company said in an official statement.

The final closing date of the transaction is uncertain, as it is subject to additional approvals by a number of Russian regulatory authorities.

The company made the final decision to exit the Russian market in March last year after Russia launched an unprovoked barbaric invasion of Ukraine and was subjected to unprecedented sanctions restrictions.

According to the company, separating the Russian unit from the rest of the business was a "very complicated" challenge.

"While it has been an extensive process, it has been important for us to reach the best possible solution for all stakeholders, including our more than 8,000 employees in Russia," said Cees 't Hart CEO.

Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2021, the Russian and Ukrainian markets accounted for approximately 13% of Carlsberg's total revenue and about 9% of its operating profit.

However, according to Hart, the sale agreement will not affect the company's earnings in 2023.

Carlsberg Corporation keeps the name of the buyer of its Russian assets under wraps, saying only that it has conducted "due diligence" on all potential buyers and made sure that the buyer is not on the EU sanctions lists.

"The sale transaction and the buyer were authorized by the Danish authorities, under the relevant European directive," the company emphasized.

Exiting the Russian market has become a challenge for a large number of global corporations that have been doing business in Russia for years. Unfortunately, according to the Kyiv School of Economics(KSE), since the beginning of the unprovoked war unleashed by the Kremlin in Ukraine, only 241, i.e. 17%, out of 1,361 Western companies with branches in the aggressor country have completely exited the Russian market. The rest continue to operate in Russia and finance the Russian army's genocidal war against Ukraine.