AB InBev sells stake in Russian joint venture
Belgian-Brazilian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev is now well and truly leaving Russia, selling its stake in a Russian joint venture to its Turkish partner Anadolu Efes.
The decision to cease AB InBev's remaining activities in Russia was already announced in April 2022, but has only now been finalised. The world's biggest brewer had already written down its Russian stake to zero, saying last year that the deal would cost the company well over 1 billion euros. However, InBev added on Tuesday that any compensation it might receive later would depend on additional regulatory approvals and was expected to be "not material".
Anadolu Efes will now run the Russian subsidiary on its own. AB InBev will not receive any compensation for the transaction now, but it could be paid later depending on how the business performs, writes Bloomberg.
This is one of the last major European divestments from Russia since it invaded Ukraine almost two years ago, according to Bloomberg. Industry peers such as Heineken and Carlsberg also left Russia after the war in Ukraine. Carlsberg's Baltika was nationalised, while Heineken sold its Russian operations to a local company for the symbolic sum of 1 euro.
© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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