Denmark & Russia: Carlsberg finalizes sale of Russian assets

Danish brewer Carlsberg has finalised the sale of its assets in Russia to local company VG Invest, Russian company filings showed on December 6, days after Carlsberg said it was selling to two longstanding employees of Baltika Breweries.

Reuters reported on December 3 that the Russian government had approved a 34-billion-rouble ($345.2 million) deal for Carlsberg to sell the assets to VG Invest.

Moscow seized control of Carlsberg's stake in Baltika, Russia's leading brewer, in July 2023 and placed it under "temporary management", prompting Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen to say its business had been stolen.

Taimuraz Bolloev, who ran Baltika from 1991 to 2004, and was installed as president during the temporary management period, was still listed as Baltika president, the records showed.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .