Carlsberg CEO: Russia has ‘stolen our business’. According to the brewer’s new CEO, Carlsberg has severed all connections with its Russian business and has declined to reach an agreement with the Russian authorities to justify the company’s seizure of the assets.
Like many other Western corporations that have left Russia since it invaded Ukraine, the Danish company has been trying to sell its Baltika subsidiary in Russia since last year.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the temporary seizure of Carlsberg’s share in the regional brewer the following month after the company had announced in June that it had found a buyer for its operation.
In September, Jacob Aarup-Andersen took over as CEO. “There is no way around the fact that they have stolen our business in Russia, and we are not going to help them make that look legitimate,” he stated.
Carlsberg took a 9.9 billion Danish crown ($1.41 billion) write-down on Baltika last year. The company employed roughly 8,400 people and had eight breweries in Russia.
Aarup-Andersen stated that Carlsberg had not been able to come up with a workable solution from their scant dealings with the Russian government and Baltika’s management since July.
He stated, “We’re not going to enter into a transaction with the Russian government that somehow justifies them taking over our business illegally,” when reporters spoke after the company’s quarterly financial report.
In retaliation, Carlsberg terminated license agreements for its brands earlier this month in Russia, allowing Baltika to manufacture, promote, and sell all Carlsberg products there.
“They are not permitted to make any of our items after the grace period expires on these licenses. We expect it to happen, though of course I cannot guarantee it,” Aarup-Andersen stated.
