Dutch multinational brewing group Heineken is leaving Russia for good. The company had seven breweries and 1,800 employees in the country and announced the withdrawal of its branded products in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This Friday, it completed its exit by selling its activities for a symbolic price of one euro to the Russian industrial group Arnest, which is not on the lists of war-sanctioned companies. The operation will entail losses of 300 million euros and implies the gradual cessation of trade in the Amstel brand, owned by Heineken International, over the next six months.
One of the conditions for the sale was that some smaller regional beer brands would be brewed for another three years. According to Heineken sources, the move is deemed necessary to ensure business continuity and approval of the agreement. In any case, the company will not receive any revenue, royalties or other amounts from Russia for this, nor will it endorse these brands. Under the terms of the agreement, the Arnest Group – a conglomerate of packaging, household products and cosmetics companies – will pay off around €100 million of corporate debt in installments. It also secures jobs for the 1,800 employees for the next three years. “We have completed our exit from Russia,” Heineken managing director Dolf van den Brink said in the statement, in which the company outlined the details of the agreement.
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The brewery is leaving Russia on better terms than Denmark’s Carslberg, whose stake in a local company, Baltika Breweries, was expropriated by the state in July this year. The same happened with the Russian subsidiary of French yogurt maker Danone. Both companies had put their assets in Russia up for sale because of the war in Ukraine. Last April, the Russian branches of German energy group Uniper and its Finnish counterpart Fortun Oyj were themselves placed under state control. The Kremlin was already warning at the time that it could seize more Western assets in retaliation for “foreign action against Russian firms outside the country.”
Heineken announced in March 2022 that it was planning a withdrawal from Russia, but the sale proved complex and slow. Last March, a report by Dutch investigative journalism platform Follow the Money revealed the launch of at least 61 new products in Russia. It included new Amstel-branded varieties and the move was approved by the multinational’s headquarters.
It initially denied the allegations. He later confirmed this in a statement, admitting that the process of parting with his Russian operations has not yet started. In view of the loss of image due to the criticism, he justified the maneuver with the need to “avoid liquidation”. In April 2023, the company announced that it had found a buyer and is awaiting approval from the Russian authorities for the now announced sale. “Although it took longer than calculated, it secures the position of our workers and makes it easier for us to march responsibly,” says Van den Brink.
Heineken has turned 150 and has been present in Russia for two decades, in what is considered a difficult market. The current agreement does not provide for any buyback options, so the multinational is ending its Russian presence. “It is very difficult to say goodbye to 1,800 colleagues. “There are no winners,” assured Van den Brink.
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