Dutch brewing company Heineken has completed the sale of its Russian business operations to Russia’s major can packaging company Arnest Group.
Arnest Group has acquired the brewing company’s Russian operations at a purchase price of €1 ($1.08) for 100% of the shares.
The completion of latest transaction comes after the companies received all the necessary approvals.
The latest milestone further marks the conclusion of the process started by Heineken in March last year to completely exit Russian market.
Heineken’s remaining assets in Russia, which also includes seven breweries, will be transferred to the Russian packaging firm.
The Dutch company already removed its Heineken brand from Russia last year and now the production of its other brand Amstel is also scheduled to phase out within the next six months.
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By GlobalDataThe total cumulative loss incurred by Heineken due to this decision is approximately €300m.
However, the company said that this deal will have “negligible impact” on diluted earnings per share and its full year 2023 outlook will remain unchanged.
Heineken CEO and executive board chairman Dolf van den Brink said: “We have now completed our exit from Russia.
“Recent developments demonstrate the significant challenges faced by large manufacturing companies in exiting Russia.
“While it took much longer than we had hoped, this transaction secures the livelihoods of our employees and allows us to exit the country in a responsible manner.”
Heineken said that the responsibility to provide employment guarantees to its 1,800 employees associated with Russian business over the next three years will be taken by Arnest Group.
Based in Stavropol, Russia, Arnest Group manufactures cosmetics, household goods and metal packaging for various fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
Heineken sold its Mexican packaging business Empaque to Crown Holdings in 2015.
