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The
local assets of the two multinationals were put under what the
Kremlin says is temporary control by another company under an
order issued late Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A 2023 law allows the Kremlin to place businesses from
“unfriendly countries” under temporary administration. In the
case of French dairy concern Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg,
the businesses placed under administration later wound up sold
to new Russian owners.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday the
companies in question are “European companies, companies from
unfriendly countries” that are “most actively involved in
hostilities against our country,” as well as in Ukraine’s
strikes “on our civilian economic infrastructure.” “These
factors were taken into account, but so were other operational
factors,” Peskov said.
He stressed that “at the moment, we’re taking about the
introduction of external management. No other decisions have
been made so far.”
Nestle, based in Vevey, Switzerland, said that it “takes note”
of the decree and “is assessing the situation.”
It said in a statement the company “is committed to taking all
necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of
business operations in the interests of all stakeholders,
particularly its employees.”
Auchan representatives had no immediate comment.
The decree also affects affiliates of international logistics
firm BATI Group, Le Monlid, which operates Russian D.I.Y. chain
Lemana Pro, formerly Leroy Merlin, and French logistics group FM
Logistic. All the local entities were placed under the
management of a company called L.E.V. Management.
Some major Western businesses ceased operating in Russia and
wrote off their businesses after the full-scale invasion of
Ukraine in 2022. Since then the Kremlin has imposed burdensome
conditions for disposing of local affiliates, demanding they be
sold at a steep discount and subject to exit taxes and
government approval. Other companies have scaled back their
operations, while others continue to do business as usual.
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