(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 war in Ukraine 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
The car parts manufacturer said on May 22 it had sold its Russian tyre plant to Russian holding company S8 Capital.
RENAULT
The French carmaker sold its majority stake in Avtovaz to the Russian state in 2022, reportedly for only one rouble but with a six-year option to buy it back.
VOLKSWAGEN
The German carmaker said on May 19 it had completed the sale of its Kaluga production plant and its local subsidiaries to Art-Finance LLC, supported by autodealer group Avilon.
BANKS & INSURERS
SOCIETE GENERALE
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.
UNIQA INSURANCE GROUP
Uniqa and Raiffeisen Bank will sell their stakes in Raiffeisen Life to Russian insurer Renaissance Life, the Austrian insurer said on Aug. 24.
ENERGY
BASF
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 Wintershall voting rights, while the rest is held by Letter One, a company controlled by Mikhail Fridman.
SHELL
The British energy and petrochemical company last year completed the sale of its Russian retail and lubricants business to Russia’s Lukoil.
Russia’s government approved the sale of Shell’s former 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion roubles, a government order showed in April.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
AB INBEV
The brewer said in April 2022 it would sell its non-controlling stake in Russian joint venture AB InBev Efes, taking a $1.1 billion impairment charge.
HEINEKEN
Dutch brewer Heineken said on Aug. 25 it had completed its exit from Russia by selling its operations there to Russia’s Arnest Group for a symbolic one euro.
FORESTRY & PACKAGING
HUHTAMAKI
The Finnish maker of packaging for food and beverages sold its operations in Russia in September last year for 151 million euros to Espetina, a holding company of the owner of former McDonald’s restaurants in Russia.
INTERNATIONAL PAPER
The renewable fibre-based products manufacturer sold its 50% stake in a Russia-based joint venture to Russian shareholders, its JV partner Ilim Group said on Sept. 18.
MONDI
The British paper and packaging firm said on July 3 it had completed the sale of three Russian packaging converting operations to Gotek Group for 1.6 billion roubles.
Mondi said on Sept. 18 it had agreed to sell its largest plant in Russia to Sezar Invest for 80 billion roubles.
STORA ENSO
The Finnish forestry firm completed its exit from Russia with the sale of three corrugated packaging plants to local management in May 2022.
MINING
KINROSS
The Toronto-based miner in June last year sold all of its Russian assets to Highland Gold Mining Group for $340 million, half of the previously announced price.
RESTAURANTS & RETAIL
AMREST
The restaurant operator said in May it had completed the sale of its KFC restaurant business in Russia to Smart Service for 100 million euros.
AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP
The Russian business of Authentic Brands Group-owned Reebok was taken over by Turkey’s FLO retailing, Kommersant daily reported in May 2022.
INDITEX
Russian government in April approved a deal for Spain’s Inditex 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
The U.S.-based restaurant chain sold last year its business in Russia, taking a charge of $1.28 billion.
TOBACCO
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO
The maker of Camel and Lucky Strike cigarettes said on Sept. 7 it would sell its Russian and Belarusian businesses for an undisclosed sum to a consortium led by members of BAT Russia’s management team. It did not disclose whether the terms of the deal, expected to close within a month, allowed BAT to buy the business back at a later stage.
IMPERIAL BRANDS
The British tobacco group transferred its Russian business to investors based in Russia in April 2022.
OTHERS
ESSITY
The Swedish hygiene company said on July 17 it had completed the divestment of its Russian operations for about 1.2 billion Swedish crowns ($117.34 million) to New Technologies LLC, whose principal owner is Igor Shilov.
HENKEL
The consumer goods company said in April it had sold its business in Russia for around 600 million euros to a consortium of local financial investors.
MAERSK
The shipping and logistics group said in February it had 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
The French electrical equipment maker closed the sale of its operations in Russia to local management in September last year.
YIT
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, Praveen Paramasivam, Paolo Laudani and Victor Goury-Laffont; Editing by Jane Merriman, Christina Fincher and Milla Nissi)