Owner of Davidoff and West Tobacco Brands Announces Exit from Russian Market

The tobacco manufacturer Imperial Brands (which owns the brands Parker & Simpson, West, Davidoff, Gauloises, Style, JPS, Fine, Maxim) has announced that it will transfer its Russian business to investors based in Russia. This was reported by Kommersant.

It is noted that the decision was made due to the situation created in Ukraine. Notably, this is the first tobacco company to halt its operations in Russia.

“In the financial year 2021, Russia and Ukraine accounted for approximately 2% of our net revenue and 0.5% of our adjusted operating income. In addition, we expect that the cash exit for this transaction will amount to around 225 million pounds,” the company stated in its announcement.

The company expects to finalize the transaction registration with the relevant authorities in the near future.

Imperial Brands (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc) is an international tobacco company. According to a source from Kommersant, Imperial Brands held about 5% of the Russian tobacco market. Its operations in Russia include sales and marketing, as well as a production facility in Volgograd.