Unilever sells its business in Russia

Unilever, owner of brands including Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said Thursday that it has completed the sale of its Russian business to Arnest Group, a local manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products, for an undisclosed amount.

The British consumer goods company said the sale includes all of its business and four factories in Russia as well as its business in Belarus.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In addition to the Russian exit, Unilever’s CEO Hein Schumacher has, in his first year at the helm, overseen plans to spin off the group’s ice cream business, lay off up to 7,500 staff and focus on 30 key brands to reverse years of underperformance.

Unilever’s continued presence in Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been criticized by campaigners and Ukraine’s government, though in March 2022 it was the first major European food company to stop imports into and exports out of Russia.

“Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. This work has been very complex and has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic,” Schumacher said in a statement, referring to the Russian alphabet.

B4Ukraine, a coalition of civil society groups seeking to compel Western companies to sever ties with Russia, welcomed Unilever’s decision to sell its assets and called for other global companies to do the same.

The Kremlin demands a discount of at least 50% on exit deals involving firms from what it calls “unfriendly” countries — those that have imposed sanctions against Russia.

Arnest Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The exodus of firms from Russia has cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost revenues, according to a Reuters analysis in March.

Danone earlier this year said it had received regulatory approvals to dispose of its Russian assets, taking a loss of $1.3 billion.