Carlsberg's Russian assets no longer under state management, decree shows

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Danish brewer Carlsberg's Russian assets have been removed from a list of Western assets under the management of the Russian state, a presidential decree showed on Monday.

Moscow seized control of Carlsberg's stake in Russia's Baltika Breweries in July 2023 and placed it under "temporary management," prompting Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen to say that its business had been stolen.

The decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, voided the previous move to put Carlsberg's Russian assets under the temporary control of the country's federal property management agency Rosimushchestvo.

It did not say who would assume control of the assets.

Russia's Vedomosti newspaper reported late on Monday, citing three sources, that Carlsberg had reached an agreement with private investors on the sale of its Russian business.

Two of Vedomosti's sources named one of the investors as Taimuraz Bolloev, president of Baltika. The deal is expected to conclude by the end of the year, one of the sources said.

Carlsberg said it was aware of the announcement from the Russian authorities but had no immediate comment. Baltika, Russia's largest brewery, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Carlsberg's assets were seized at the same time as those of Danone. Moscow forced through a sale of the French yoghurt maker's assets to a pro-war businessman earlier this year.

Bolloev, who ran Baltika from 1991 to 2004, was appointed its president without Carlsberg's approval after the state took control.

(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow; Additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan and Mark Porter)