Unilever has announced the sale of its Russian subsidiary, Unilever Russia, to Arnest Group.

The sale marks Unilever’s exit from Russia, concluding its business in the country. This follows mounting pressure from campaigners to withdraw its presence in the market due to the current geopolitical environment.

Arnest Group is a Russian manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products. Through the deal, the terms of which were undisclosed, it has acquired Unilever’s full business in Russia including its four factories in the country. Its business in Belarus is also included in the sale.

Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever, said in a statement: “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.”

Several F&B giants have begun to scale back and conclude their presence in the Russian market since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last summer, Heineken completed the sale of its Russian operations to Arnest Group for €1 for 100% of the shares. Arnest Group also acquired the Russian business of global packaging manufacturer Ball Corporation in 2022, including three plants producing aluminum cans for beer and soft drinks in Moscow, Leningrad and Chelyabinsk.

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