Dutch brewer Heineken says completed exit from Russia

Dutch brewer Heineken says completed exit from Russia

The company apologised in March for creating 'ambiguity' on its vow to leave
The company apologised in March for creating 'ambiguity' on its vow to leave. Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Follow our WhatsApp channel to never miss out on the news that matters to you!

Dutch brewer Heineken on Friday announced it was pulling out of Russia after selling its operations to the Arnest Group, the largest Russian manufacturer of cosmetics, household goods and metal packaging.

Like other major Western companies, Heineken pledged last year to quit Russia, but drew criticism earlier this year after a Dutch investigative website reported that it was continuing its Russian sales.

The company apologised in March for creating "ambiguity" on its vow to leave the country, saying it was hoping to secure jobs for its Russian employees but struggling to find a buyer for its Russian business.

The brewer said in a statement Friday that the sale had received all the necessary approvals and "concludes the process Heineken initiated in March 2022 to exit Russia".

The move will incur an expected total cumulative loss of 300 million euros ($320 million), it added.

Read also

Kenya says TikTok agrees content moderation deal

All remaining assets including seven breweries in Russia will transfer to the new owners, Heineken said.

PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!

It added that the Arnest Group had provided employment guarantees for the next three years for the 1,800 Heineken employees in Russia.

"In addition to the Heineken brand which was removed from Russia in 2022, production of Amstel will be phased out within six months," it said, adding no other international brands would be licensed in Russia.

"We have now completed our exit from Russia," Heineken chief executive officer Dolf van den Brink said.

"Recent developments demonstrate the significant challenges faced by large manufacturing companies in exiting Russia," he added.

"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."

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.