Yesterday, Unilever has completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary to Arnest Group, a Russian manufacturer of personal care and household goods. The sale includes all of Unilever’s business in Russia, including its four factories located in St. Petersburg, Tula, Omsk, and Yekaterinburg, as well as its operations in Belarus.
Unilever’s CEO, Hein Schumacher, stated that this move marks the end of the company’s presence in Russia after a year-long process of separating IT platforms, supply chains, and migrating brands to Cyrillic. This decision follows significant pressure and criticism over Unilever’s continued operations in Russia during the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. In 2023, the Ukrainian government named Unilever an “international sponsor of war,” which intensified scrutiny over its business activities in the region.
The sale was first revealed in September by Russian publication RBC, with estimates valuing Unilever’s Russian business between $394 million and $449 million. Arnest Group, owned by Russian industrialist Alexei Sagal, has been actively acquiring assets since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Along with Unilever’s assets, Arnest has also acquired Swedish cosmetics group Oriflame, US can maker Ball Corp, and Dutch brewer Heineken.
Schumacher emphasized the complexity of the sale process and noted that it was part of Unilever’s broader reassessment of its presence in Russia amidst mounting external criticism.
