Heineken beer will disappear from Russia after the sale of a local business for 1 euro

Carlsberg CEO Sis 't Hart says he has lost contact with Russian employees since the Kremlin took over her subsidiary. Credit: Carsten Sneibjerg/Bloomberg

Heineken has previously faced accusations of breaking a promise to leave Russia after invading Ukraine in 2022. The brewery called these claims «completely untrue and misleading.»

Heineken was shielding its Russian market. operations without making any profit from them, but argued that finding a buyer who could take over local employees was a better result than closing the business and laying off staff.

Arnest Group is owned by Russian businessman Alexei Sagal . Its main business is the production of aerosols. According to the Roscongress Foundation, the company is partnering with partners such as Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and L'Oreal to advance Russia's economic interests.

Dolph van den Brink, CEO and Chairman of Heineken, said: “Recent events demonstrate the serious challenges large manufacturing companies face when exiting Russia.”

While it took much longer than we hoped, this deal provides a livelihood for our employees and allows us to exit responsibly country».