OREANDA-NEWS The Dutch brewing concern Heineken has found a buyer for a business in Russia, a request for approval of the transaction has already been sent to regulatory authorities, according to the company's report for the first quarter of 2023.

"We continue to work on the transfer of ownership of our business in Russia. The application was submitted for approval to the authorities of the Russian Federation in accordance with local regulatory requirements," the company said.

Heineken added that before receiving a response from the regulator, the concern cannot disclose other information, including about a potential buyer.

The termination of the sale of products in Russia has already affected the financial performance of the company. According to the report, the growth in sales of premium beer in most regions was offset by "a decline in sales in Vietnam and the cessation of sales in Russia." As a result, the overall drop in sales in the premium segment, taking into account losses in these two markets, amounted to 5.7%.

In March 2022, the concern estimated its losses due to withdrawal from Russia at €400 million.

In Russia, Heineken produces beer under the brands "Okhota", "Three Bears", "Bochkarev", "Zhigulevskoe", "Stepan Razin", PIT, "Gray Ural", "Strong" and others. The factories producing these drinks continued to work, despite the concern's decision to curtail work in Russia, but the company stopped exporting beer produced abroad to Russia. In addition, the company has suspended new investment projects in the country.

Deliveries to Russia after February 2022 were also stopped by other major foreign beer producers. Among them were Czech beer producers — Plzensky Prazdroj (brands Pilsner Urquell, Velkopopovický Kozel and Gambrinus), Budejovicky Budvar (Budweiser Budvar), Staropramen and Bernard; Danish brewing company Carlsberg (brands Carlsberg, Kronenbourg, Holsten, Tuborg).