Russia: AB InBev agrees to sell stake in Russian JV to partner Anadolu Efes

Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes has agreed to acquire AB InBev’s stake in a $1.3bn Russian joint venture in a sign of Turkey’s continued close corporate ties to Russia, as Western companies struggle to offload their assets in the country, the Financial Times reported on December 18.

Anadolu Efes will become the sole owner of a group it formed with AB InBev in 2018 to sell beer in Russia and Ukraine, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. No cash will change hands as part of the pact, but Anadolu Efes will make future payments based on the joint venture’s performance, the filing to Turkey’s Capital Markets Board said.

In April last year the brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois announced it was in talks to sell its stake in AB InBev Efes, the Russian joint venture, as many Western companies looking to exit Russia scrambled to find buyers for their subsidiaries following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The regulatory filing on Tuesday said KPMG assessed the Russian joint venture to be worth $1.1-1.3bn.

AB InBev still owns just under a quarter of the broader Anadolu Efes group, whose eponymous pilsner is widely sold across restaurants and convenience stores in Turkey. In addition to marketing alcoholic beverages, Istanbul-listed Anadolu Efes also controls a large soft-drinks business that bottles Coca-Cola products in Turkey.

After announcing its intention to leave Russia, AB InBev said it was forfeiting “all financial benefit” from the joint venture and reported a $1.1bn impairment in its first-quarter earnings.

Anadolu Efes’s purchase of AB InBev’s stake highlights how Turkish companies have retained strong links with Russia even as Ankara’s western allies have sought to cut off Moscow’s access to international capital. Arçelik, one of Turkey’s leading industrial companies, for example purchased US-based Whirlpool’s Russian business for around €260mn last year.

The US and EU, in particular, have grown more frustrated recently with Turkey’s decision not to sign up for western sanctions and have alleged that Moscow is using the country to dodge export controls.

In a statement, AB InBev said no amount would be paid to the brewer on closure of the deal.

“There can be no assurances on when and whether these approvals will be obtained,” the brewer said. “Any payments received by ABI after completion will be subject to additional regulatory approvals and are expected to be not material.”

Selling assets in Russia has become increasingly difficult following the Kremlin’s introduction of punitive legislation. This allows Russian entities to acquire the assets of “naughty” western companies at knockdown prices.

Companies have to jump through complex regulatory hoops to have their applications considered, and even if they do find a buyer, will have little chance of extracting proceeds.

In October the FT reported that Russia was blocking companies that sell their Russian assets from withdrawing the proceeds in dollars and euros, in an effort to strengthen the rouble.

Those companies deemed “unfriendly” by Russian authorities also face the risk of seizure by the Kremlin. AB InBev’s main competitor in Russia, Carlsberg, had its subsidiary Baltika Breweries seized and placed under “temporary management” by the state earlier this year.

Former Carlsberg executives have since been arrested on fraud charges and held without bail, while the new, Kremlin-appointed president of Baltika has called for the full nationalisation of the company, according to local reports.

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