Consumer goods giant Unilever has completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary to Russian perfume, cosmetic and household products manufacturer Arnest Group.
UK-based Unilever, owner of brands including Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said the sale included all of its business and four factories in Russia as well as its business in Belarus.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“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,” Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement on 10 October.
“The completion of the sale ends Unilever Russia’s presence in the country.”
Although Unilever was the first major European food company to stop imports into and exports out of Russia, the company’s continued presence in Russia following the invasion in February 2022 had been criticised by campaigners and Ukraine’s government, Reuters wrote on 10 October.
