Unilever has decided to ditch its Russian arm in a deal understood to be worth £300m and £334m, 50% less than the division’s value.
The conglomerate, whose portfolio includes brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Magnum and Wall’s, is to sell its Russian assets to chemical company Arnest, reported This Is Money.
However, the deal is subjected to a 50% discount according to Russian law on asset sales, while Russian media is reporting that it is still waiting to be confirmed as official, and is being looked over by the Kremlin’s subcommittee for approval.
It follows ongoing protests by campaigners Moral Rating Agency over Unilever’s continued operation in the country, after other FMCGs have pulled out or been bought out of the country.
Moral Rating Agency founder Mark Dixon: “It is interesting that a payment of half a billion dollars might help [Unilever] do the moral thing.
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‘While an exit would be good news, we should never forget that Unilever has been supporting the Russian economy at the rate of half a billion pounds a year which is enough to pay for a thermobaric rocket every nine days or an Iranian drone every 17 minutes. It gets no medal for dancing with the devil for two-and-a-half years.”
In June, campaigners urged the King revoke the royal warrants of Mondelez-owned Cadbury, Unilever and other prominent FMCGs over their Russian links.
Confectionery manufacturer Mondelez which in July faced a backlash over continuing to sell Toblerone chocolate in Russia, despite announcing it would stop importing goods from Europe to the country.
Elsewhere, in March rival food and drink manufacturer Danone was granted the regulatory approvals needed for the disposal of its Russian division, a loss that cost the FMCG £1bn (€1.2bn).
