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On Sunday, Vladimir Putin signed a decree stating that the Russian government will temporarily seize control of Danone's unit in the country, as well as Carlsberg's local brewer, Baltika. With the decree, foreign-owned shares of Danone Russia and Baltika Breweries were placed under the control of Russian property agency Rosimushchestvo. A spokesperson for Danone said the French dairy giant was currently exploring the situation and "is preparing to take all necessary measures to protect its rights as shareholder of Danone Russia, and the continuity of the operations of the business in the interest of all stakeholders, in particular, its employees". Danone, like many other F&B companies operating in the country, had been eying the sale of its Russian subsidiary following the country's invasion of and ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Danone suggested the sale could lead to a write-off of up to €1 billion, and said that the process is "progressing according to the expected schedule." Meanwhile, Carlsberg commented that it did not receive any official information from Russian authorities regarding the seizure of its Baltika business. In a statement, Carlsberg said: "The group will assess the legal and operational consequences of this development and take all necessary actions in response". Carlsberg had chosen to exit its business in Russia, and had already found an unnamed buyer and penned a deal for its sale on June 23. "Following the presidential decree, the prospects for this sales process are now highly uncertain," the company said. The Kremlin has threatened to seize more Western assets in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, in retaliation to, what it called, "aggressive actions of unfriendly countries". In April, Moscow seized control over the Russian units of two energy companies – Germany's Uniper and Finald's Fortum. You may also like to read:

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