Heineken sells Russian business for €1

Heineken has sold its Russian beer business to Arnest Group for only €1 (£86p) a year after initially vowing to pull out of the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

Arnest Group owns a major can packaging business and is the largest Russian manufacturer of cosmetics, household goods and metal packaging for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector.

The Dutch brewer, which also produces Amstel and Birra Moretti, is expected to receive a €300m loss (£257m) including cumulative foreign exchange losses relating to Russia currently recorded in equity. This includes a commitment from Arnest Group to repay the historical intercompany debt of the Russian business of approximately €100m (£85m) due to Heineken in instalments.

In addition to the Heineken brand which was removed from Russia in 2022, production of Amstel will be phased out within 6 months.

The new Russian owner will be responsible for the 1,800 employees in Russia and has pledged to guarantee employment for the next three years. 

Heineken’s CEO and chairman of the executive board Dolf van den Brink said: “We have now completed our exit from Russia. Recent developments demonstrate the significant challenges faced by large manufacturing companies in exiting Russia. While it took much longer than we had hoped, this transaction secures the livelihoods of our employees and allows us to exit the country in a responsible manner.”