Unilever sells its Russian business to local manufacturer
By Ralph Tathagata
In an undisclosed term of transaction, Unilever, British consumer goods giant said it has completed the sale of its Russian business to Arnest Group, a local manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products, for an undisclosed amount. The sale includes all of Unilever’s business and four factories in Russia as well as its business in Belarus. Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise are some of Unilever’s popular brands in Russia.
It would be recalled that Hein Schumacher, Unilever’s global CEO has, in his first year at the top, overseen plans to spin off the group’s ice cream business, lay off up to 7,500 staff and focus on 30 key brands to reverse years of underperformance.
Unilever’s exit from Russia is following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has been criticized by campaigners and Ukraine’s government. In March 2022, Unilever was the first major European food company to stop imports into and exports out of Russia.
“Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. This work has been very complex and has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic,” Schumacher said in a statement, referring to the Russian alphabet.
The Kremlin demands a discount of at least 50% on exit deals involving firms from what it calls “unfriendly” countries — those that have imposed sanctions against Russia. According to a recent report, the exodus of firms from Russia has cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost revenues.
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