Heineken Sells Its Assets in Russia for 1 Euro

The Dutch brewing company Heineken has announced the sale of its assets in Russia. The buyer was Arnest, the largest manufacturer of aerosol packaging for perfumes, cosmetics, and household products based in Stavropol.

Heineken has completed the sale of its assets in Russia to the Arnest group, receiving all necessary approvals, as reported by the press service of the Dutch brewing company to Forbes.

According to the press release, the purchase price for 100% of Heineken Russia's (Heineken United Brewery LLC) shares amounted to 1 euro. The transaction also obligates the buyer to repay the intra-group debt of the Russian business to Heineken, which is about 100 million euros.

Heineken has acknowledged that “the deal will lead to an expected total cumulative loss of 300 million euros.” The transaction does not include a buyback option. In the future, there will be no Heineken logo or name. The legal process for renaming may take several months.

As part of the deal, all remaining assets of Heineken in Russia, including seven breweries, will be transferred to the new owner. Within six months, they will stop beer production under the Amstel brand (the Heineken brand was withdrawn from Russia in 2022).

At the same time, the buyer will retain the trademarks of several regional brands for three years, which are necessary to ensure business continuity and finalize the transaction. Heineken's press service emphasized that the company will not support these brands and will not receive any revenue, royalties, or dividends from Russia.