Danish Carlsberg announced the sale of assets in Russia

Carlsberg announced the sale of the asset for an estimated 34 billion rubles. The buyers are unnamed top managers. The Danish concern's statement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the temporary state management of Baltika assets introduced in July 2023. This step followed Carlsberg's statements about the desire to leave the Russian market due to the military conflict in Ukraine.

Under the terms of the new deal, the Danish side, which gained control of Baltika in 2008, will completely give up the Russian business for a payment, but will retain shares in subsidiaries in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. 

According to Reuters, citing sources, the transaction amount amounted to $320.75 million, or 34 billion rubles. This is significantly lower than the initial estimate of Carlsberg's Russian business, which the holding itself estimated at $1.06 billion. According to the agency, the buyer was JSC VG Invest. The owners of the joint-stock company are not disclosed, its CEO is Egor Guselnikov, the current vice president of sales of Baltika. He also owns 50% in the Brewing Development Center LLC. The rest of the company's plants can be transferred to other profile players, says Igor Khavsky, co-owner of the SVAM Group distributor and the Gletcher brewery.

Sergey Zuykov, Managing Partner of Zuykov and partners, suggests that the final price of the Baltika sale transaction includes the rights to brands that the buyer will be able to use further without encountering opposition from Carlsberg. Therefore, according to the expert, the new owner will be able to export such beer to "friendly" countries. But in "unfriendly" countries, if disagreements over the use of brands are not settled, Baltika will face claims of infringement of Carlsberg's rights, the expert is sure.

Source: Kommersant