The Dutch beer producer Heineken has announced the sale of its assets in Russia to Arnest, a company specializing in the production of perfumes, cosmetics and household products. According to the Russian edition of Forbes, the deal has received all necessary approvals and has been successfully completed.

According to the agreement, the purchase price for 100% of Heineken Russia (United Heineken Breweries LLC) was EUR 1. The buyer is also obliged to repay the intra-group debt of the Russian business to Heineken in the amount of EUR 100 million.

According to Heineken's announcement, the deal is expected to result in a total loss of €300 million. However, the agreement does not provide for a buyback right.

Future products manufactured by Arnest in Russia will no longer bear the Heineken logo or name. The legal process to change the name may take several months.

As part of the deal, all of Heineken's remaining assets in Russia, including seven breweries, will be transferred to the new owner. Over the next six months, the production of beer under the Amstel brand (which was withdrawn from Russia in 2022) will be discontinued. However, the buyer will retain the licenses for a number of regional brands necessary for business continuity and to obtain consent to the transaction.

Heineken's press service added that the company will not provide support for these brands and will not receive any revenues, royalties or dividends from Russia.

This deal will not affect the employees of the breweries that have been transferred to the new owner, and their jobs will remain unchanged.

Arnest Group is the largest producer of perfumery, cosmetics and household products in aerosol packaging. According to SPARK, the company's revenue in 2022 amounted to 11.17 billion rubles, net profit was 259.38 million rubles.