Unilever sells Russia and Belarus operations to Arnest Group

Unilever has confirmed it has disposed of its Russian subsidiary and its associated operation in Belarus. In a short statement today (10 October) confirming the deal, it said the assets have been sold to Arnest Group, a local manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products, for an undisclosed sum.

CEO Hein Schumacher said: “The sale includes all of Unilever’s business in Russia and its four factories in the country. Our business in Belarus is also included in the sale.

“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.

“The completion of the sale ends Unilever Russia’s presence in the country.”

Last month, reports coming out of Russia suggested Unilever had been given the nod of approval by the Kremlin to sell its assets there.

Local Russian publication RBC revealed that the deal was approved at the end of August by a sub-committee of the government commission and that Unilever’s Russian assets, including its ice-cream brands, had been valued at between Rbs35bn and Rbs40bn ($394m and $449m), according to an RBC source.

When the Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream owner reported its first-half results in July, it said that, as of 30 June, its Russian business had net assets of around €600m ($665m), including four factories.

Consumer-goods companies, including Unilever, have faced public pressure to quit operating in Russia, and Russia-supported Belarus, because of its invasion of Ukraine.

A year ago, Unilever was included on a list of companies dubbed by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine as “sponsors of war”. When Ukraine’s National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) added Unilever to the list, it claimed the Marmite brand owner’s profits in Russia doubled from 2021 to 2022.

Just Food