MADRID, 25 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Dutch brewer Heineken has completed the sale of its operations in Russia to the Arnest Group at the price of 1 euro, thus incurring a total expected cumulative loss of 300 million euros.
The transaction, which has received all the required approvals, concludes the process that Heineken began in March 2022 to leave Russia, as confirmed by the multinational, noting that “there is no purchase option to return to Russia.”
In this way, the Russian Arnest acquires ownership of the assets in the country of Heineken production plants and will take over the company’s 1,800 employees in Russia, offering them employment guarantees for the next three years.
Likewise, the Dutch company has specified that, in addition to the Heineken brand, which was withdrawn from Russia in 2022, Amstel’s production will be phased out within a period of 6 months and no other international brand will be licensed in Russia, with the exception of one 3-year license for some smaller regional brands needed to ensure business continuity and transaction approval.
Thus, Heineken will not provide brand support and will not receive revenue, royalties or fees from Russia.
As a result of the transaction, Heineken expects to take exceptional losses of €300 million, including accumulated foreign exchange losses in relation to Russia, although it has assured that this will have a negligible impact on its earnings per share and does not affect forecasts. of the company by 2023.
“We have completed our exit from Russia,” said Russian President and CEO Dolf van den Brink, for whom recent events demonstrate the significant challenges large manufacturing companies face when leaving Russia.
“While it took much longer than we expected, this transaction secures the livelihoods of our employees and allows us to leave the country responsibly,” he added.
