Turkey & Russia: Government blocks sale of AB InBev stake in Russian JV to partner Anadolu Efes

A Russian government commission led by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov blocked the sale of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s stake in a Russian joint venture to its Turkish partner Anadolu Efes AS, according to a newspaper report, Bloomberg said on August 6.

The decision was taken at a commission meeting on June 20, RBC newspaper reported, without providing the reasons for the refusal. The Finance Ministry declined to comment to RBC.

Anadolu Efes said in a statement to the Turkish stock exchange that it hasn’t received any official statement that the transaction was rejected by regulators.

AB InBev and Anadolu Efes had agreed in December that the Turkish brewer would become the sole owner of the joint venture, AB InBev Efes BV. Instead of an upfront payment, AB InBev was to receive compensation later on depending on how well the business performed. It was valued at $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion at the time, according to KPMG.

Anadolu Efes reversed earlier gains in Istanbul trading, dropping as much as 9.8% to 228.9 liras and triggering a circuit-breaker. It was down 4.2% at 243.1 liras as of 3:41 p.m.

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