International•27 Aug ’23 12:46 Author: Remy Kock
After a year and a half, beer brewer Heineken has finally given up in Russia. The Russian investor Arnest Group took over all the shares for one euro, and it took longer than expected. There is a good reason for this, thinks Bob Homan of ING Investment Office.
After a year and a half, beer brewer Heineken has finally given up in Russia. The Russian investor Arnest Group took over all the shares for one euro, and it took longer than expected. There is a good reason for this, thinks Bob Homan of ING Investment Office. ( ANP / Hollandse Hoogte / Laurens van Putten)
Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink said earlier that the sale of Russian activities was priority 1, 2 and 3 for the company, but the acquisition nevertheless took time. According to Homan, this is because Heineken has done everything possible to transfer the staff as well as possible. “In addition, there will certainly be some coercion involved. The Russians have also expropriated the Danish Carlsberg.’
‘There will certainly be some coercion involved’
Bob Homan, ING Investment Office
Something that may be related to the announced F-16 support, Homan thinks. And expropriation would in any case be a worse outcome than ‘being able to arrange something for the people there’, says Homan.
Loss
In total, Heineken is selling seven breweries and 1,800 employees, recording a loss of USD 300 million. According to Homan, that loss mainly consists of depreciation of the factories and materials that remain behind in Russia. “Possibly some goodwill, and you’ll lose that in one fell swoop.”
Also read | Sale of Heineken Russian activities completed, expected loss of 300 million
Homan also expects that the consequences of this will only really become clear in the next quarterly figures. “I think they have already written off something, but if they still talk about a loss, it will be caught next quarter,” he continues. “Although they will have already made provision for that. So if it is released, it may not even be so intense to see.’
Why Heineken?
The reason for Arnest Group to join Heineken is not so crazy. Arnest Group is a major manufacturer of aerosol cans for air fresheners, deodorant and hair spray, but also has Unilever and Nestlé brands as customers. ‘So it is vertical integration,’ says Homan. ‘They already have the production line for the bottles, so now they can also put their own beer in them. The acquiring party really has that under control.’
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Top man Dolf van den Brink calls it a reliable party. “It has been an important supplier to Russia for years and they are not on any sanctions list,” he said earlier.
2023-08-27 10:47:12
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