Carlsberg agrees to sell the Russian assets but does not disclose who the buyer is. The Danish brewer just said it has signed an agreement to sell its Russian operations, but did not name the buyer or the agreed price for the transaction, which is subject to extensive regulatory review. from Moscow. Carlsberg, considered the western brewer most exposed to Russia, said last year it expected a write-down of about 9.9 billion Danish kroner (equivalent to more than 1.32 billion euros) from the sale of the business , decided as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

"The separation of the Russian business from the rest of the Carlsberg Group - underlines the company in a statement - was very complex and included more than 150 million Danish kroner (equal to over 20 million euros) of investments in equipment for the brewing and IT infrastructure in markets outside Russia".

The transaction is subject to an extensive regulatory approval process in Russia. This includes submitting applications to the Russian Governmental Commission to obtain its green light, which are mandatory under Russian law. , the transaction is subject to several customary conditions, including regulatory approval and the satisfaction of certain conditions in various jurisdictions.
As a result, the timing for the definitive completion of the transaction remains uncertain."

According to the Danish company, however, the sale agreement will have no impact on Carlsberg's earnings expectations for 2023. "The signing of an agreement for the sale of the Russian operations is a very important milestone in the complex process of separation and sales - underlines Cees 't Hart, CEO of Carlsberg - It was a long process, but for us it was important to reach the best possible solution for all interested parties, including our more than 8,000 employees in Russia".

The industry said in March that it expected to announce the sale of the Russian assets by June, and also said it was seeking an option to buy back the Russian assets in the future. "It's not certain if they will get approval, and if they do, it's hard to know when, because Russian authorities are hard to predict" or analysts.

In 2021, the brewer generated 10% of its revenues in Russia, before excluding the country from the Central and Eastern European market in 2022.