Russia takes over shares of Danone and Carlsberg affiliates – by decree mega recall at Mercedes – 590,000 combustion cars affected worldwide

By presidential decree, Russia on Sunday acquired the shares of the French food group Danone and the Danish brewery Carlsberg in their Russian subsidiaries.

A decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin, published on Sunday on the official justice portal, states that the Russian state will “temporarily” manage the shares of Danone Russia and the Carlsberg subsidiary Baltika.

Both companies were presented with a fait accompli, although they announced their intention to leave the Russian market after the offensive in Ukraine.

Danone said on Sunday that it is currently assessing the situation and preparing “to take all necessary measures to protect its rights as a shareholder of Danone Russia and the survival of the company in the interest of all stakeholders, especially its employees”.

Danone expects “no impact on financial targets”

After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Danone was one of the few international companies to remain in Russia.

At the end of October, the group finally announced that it was ceasing most of its activities in Russia. The company is discontinuing its dairy and plant-based products business and retaining only its baby food business.

The move could lead to write-offs of one billion euros, it was said at the time. Danone said on Sunday that the Russian decision would have “no impact on Danone’s financial targets” for 2023.

At Carlsberg, the sales plans explode

The Carlsberg subsidiary Baltika is a leading brewing company in Russia with a market share of approximately 30 percent. Carlsberg announced in June that it had found a buyer for its activities in Russia, without naming a name.

“Following the presidential decree, the outlook for this sale process is now extremely uncertain,” Carlsberg said on Sunday. The Danish brewing group was not informed of the presidential decree by the Russian authorities.

At the end of March 2022, the Carlsberg Group announced to stop production and sales in Russia. However, subsidiary Baltika must continue to operate as an independent company to support the 8,400 employees in Russia.

Since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, a number of Western companies have withdrawn from Russia.

(yam/sda/afp)