Ink Drop

Unilever Exits Russia; Sells Business to Arnest Group

Oct. 10, 2024

Unilever becomes the latest Western company to exit business in the country since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Andy Hanacek

Unilever has sold its Russian business to Arnest Group, according to numerous reports. The Unilever Russian assets were purchased by the same Russian company that has snapped up various properties and business units from Western-based companies as they’ve looked to exit the nation following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Unilever said in a Reuters report that the sale includes all of its business and four factories in Russia along with its business in neighboring nation Belarus. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Reuters cited an FT report that said the transaction was valued at $568.41 million (520 million euros). Unilever valued the business at 600 million euros in June, the report said.

The Unilever business adds to the list of Russian food and beverage acquisitions for Arnest since the Ukraine invasion, with the company having snagged Ball Corp.’s beverage packaging business in late 2022 and Heineken’s Russian operations for one euro in August 2023. Danone and Carlsberg weren’t so lucky to get one euro for their subsidiaries, however, as the Russian government seized those operations in July 2023.

Unilever had stopped imports and exports out of Russia, but continued to operate and sell products, citing that move as the “least bad” option for its operations in the country and facing significant criticism for continuing down that path.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.