Among other things, the giant company that produces Ingman ice creams has to sell its assets in Russia cheaply, according to newspaper reports.
17:51•Updated 18:11
Consumer product giant Unilever has received permission from the Russian government to sell its operations in Russia, reports Russian business magazine RBK.
According to the financial newspaper Kommersant the buyer is an entrepreneur Alexey Sagal Ernest Group. A year ago, the same company bought the Russian operations of the beer manufacturer Heineken for one euro.
Unilever also has to sell its holdings at a discount, although the terms are better.
According to RBK, the value of Unilever’s Russian operations has been defined as 35–40 billion rubles, or approximately 350–400 million euros. Still in 2022, the value of Unilever’s business in Russia was EUR 900 million, Kommersant says.
British Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer product companies, which manufactures food, ice cream and cosmetics, among other things. So far, it has not commented on the information of the Russian newspapers.
Unilever has come under criticism and boycotts in Finland and the West because it continued its business in Russia. For example, Linnanmäki stopped selling Ingman ice creams owned by Unilever in the spring.
The biggest competitor of Unilever’s ice creams in Finland is Froneri, partly owned by Nestlé, which manufactures Pingviini ice creams, among other things. It still works in Russia.
Source: Reuters