Carlsberg announces sale of Russian business

Danish brewer Carlsberg said it has signed an agreement to sell its Russian business, announced last year in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The move follows an ‘extensive process of separating the business’ from the rest of the group, the company said, adding that the separation has been ‘very complicated’, including around 150 work streams across business functions and more than 150 million Danish kroner (£17.30m) investments in brewery equipment and IT infrastructure in markets outside Russia.

“The signing of an agreement to sell the Russian business is a very important milestone in the highly complex separation and selling process,” Cees ’t Hart, chief executive, said.

“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. We now look forward to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.”

The transaction is subject to a comprehensive regulatory approval process in Russia. This includes the filing of applications with the Russian Government Commission to obtain its approvals, which is mandatory under Russian law.

In addition, the transaction is subject to several customary conditions, including regulatory approval and fulfillment of certain conditions in a number of jurisdictions.

Consequently, the timing of the final completion of the transaction remains uncertain, the group said, adding that it cannot provide details of the transaction at this time in order to ensure that the approval processes go as smoothly as possible.

The company said the sales agreement will not impact the 2023 earnings expectations.

Carlsberg owns Russian brewer Baltika Brewery, whose employees represent a fifth of the beermaker's global workforce.

In 2021, Carlsberg's Russian business reported a revenue of 6.5 billion Danish kroner and an operating profit of 682 million.