German concern Henkel AG has started the process of selling its business in the Russian market and plans to complete this process in a short time. The reasons were the effect of international sanctions and the desire to acquire assets on behalf of the parties involved. stated Simon Bajel-Tra, Chairman of the Company’s Shareholders Committee and Supervisory Board, in an interview with the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Chemical-industrial concern, produced and supplied to Russia, including detergents Persil, Losk and Vernel. Now the company plans to transfer the assets to a third party. The great-grandson of the founder of Henkel AG has not disclosed the name of the potential buyer – the group management is currently evaluating various options.
“We started the sales process. In the beginning there were many interested parties. We are now narrowing the list to those that appear to be a viable and serious offer, and to comply with all sanctions. “The process is ongoing and we want to complete it quickly,” said Bajel-Tra.
The decision was made to sell the business, although Russia until recently was an important sales market for the concern. Sales amounted to around 1 billion Euros and the company employs 2.5 thousand people at its 11 production sites. Bajel-Tra concluded that the delay in making the final decision to exit the Russian market due to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was due to Henkel management’s analysis of the consequences of such a move.
On December 16, Kommersant newspaper cites a letter to suppliers by Sergey Bykovskikh, Managing Director of Henkel’s representation in the Russian Federation. reportedThe German concern Henkel will operate on the Russian market as an independent entity under the name Lab Industries from January 1, 2023. A prerequisite for the transfer of ownership as part of the exodus is the independence of the local company from Henkel’s global business processes.