Moscow rejects the Anheuser-Busch InBev - Anadolu Efes transaction

The authorities in Moscow rejected the transaction between Anheuser-Busch InBev and Anadolu Efes, by which the world's largest beer producer wanted to sell its stake in their joint venture in Russia to the Turkish partner, the companies informed yesterday, reports Reuters.

In April 2022, AB InBev announced that it was selling its stake to Anadolu Efes in order to exit the Russian market, following the invasion of Ukraine. But the transaction had to be approved by the regulatory authorities, notes Agerpres.

Yesterday, in separate releases, AB InBev and Anadolu Efes announced that these approvals were not obtained.

"Anadolu Efes and AB InBev are analyzing the decision. The business in Russia continues to operate under the management of Anadolu Efes", the AB InBev press release states.

The world's largest beer producer is a partner in Turkey and Ukraine with Turkey's Anadolu Efes, but is not a majority shareholder. The joint venture AB InBev-Efes has 11 breweries in Russia, where 3,500 people work, and three in Ukraine, where there are 1,800 employees.

Since the launch of the invasion in February 2022, hundreds of companies have pulled out of Russia, leaving billions of dollars in assets behind.

We remind you that in August 2023, the Dutch beer producer Heineken announced its complete exit from Russia, selling its local operations to the Russian group Arnest, for the symbolic sum of one euro, without the option to buy back the business, according to Reuters.

Heineken, which produced Botsjkarev and Ochota en Tri Medvjedja in Russia, stated then that the transaction had obtained all the necessary approvals and will probably result in exceptional losses of 300 million euros.

Heineken had seven breweries in Russia, where 1,800 people worked. Jobs are kept for three years.

In March 2022, Heineken announced its intention to exit the Russian market, but the process took longer than expected.