MOSCOW, July 16 (Portal) – The Russian state has control of French yogurt maker Danone’s (DANO.PA) Russian subsidiary, as well as beer company Carlsberg’s (CARLb.CO) stake in a local brewery, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir taken over by Putin on Sunday.
The decree said foreign interests in Danone Russia and Baltika Breweries would be placed under the “temporary administration” of state real estate agency Rosimushchestvo.
The move comes after the Russian subsidiaries of Germany’s Uniper (UN01.DE) and Finland’s Fortum (FORTUM.HE) were brought under state control in April.
The Kremlin warned at the time that it could seize more Western assets in temporary retaliation for foreign action taken against Russian companies abroad.
Danone announced last October that it was looking for a buyer for its dairy food business in Russia. The deal could result in a writedown of up to a billion euros ($1.12 billion).
The decree, published on Sunday, also said that Danish brewer Carlsberg’s stake in Russia’s Baltika brewery had been placed under state administration.
Carlsberg said in June it had signed an agreement to sell its Russian business, subject to regulatory approvals.
Danone and Carlsberg were not immediately available for comment.
($1 = 1.1227 euros)
Reporting by Caleb Davis and Darya Korsunskaya, editing by Andrew Osborn
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