A Russian state commission has approved the sale of the three plants of the Swedish furniture company IKEA (IKEA) in Russia to two local buyers, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov announced, as quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Western companies have left Russia, but the sale of their local assets is hampered by the provision that deals by companies from “enemy” countries require the permission of a special government commission, Reuters noted.
Evtukhov stated to Izvestia that the manufacturer of kitchens and kitchen equipment “Slotex” and the manufacturer of wood “Luzales” will acquire the IKEA factories. They will continue to work and sell on the Russian market, said the deputy minister.
According to him, the Russian and Swedish companies should specify the parameters of the transaction. All three companies remained silent on the matter.
IKEA closed its stores in Russia in March last year and announced that it would sell its production facilities. In the summer (June), the company briefly reopened its stores to sell off the remaining merchandise there. There were sales on the Internet at very low prices.
At that time, the Russian store chains “Tvoy Dom” (Tvoy Dom) and “Hoff” (Hoff) were mentioned as buyers of IKEA’s assets in Russia.
