Carlsberg has cut all ties with its Russian business and refuses to enter a deal with Russia’s government that would make its seizure of the assets look legitimate, the brewer’s new CEO said on Tuesday.
However, after announcing in June it had found a buyer for its business, Russian President Vladimir Putin the following month ordered the temporary seizure of Carlsberg's stake in the local brewer. Carlsberg had eight breweries and about 8,400 employees in Russia, and took a 9.9 billion Danish crown write-down on Baltika last year.
“We're not going to enter into a transaction with the Russian government that somehow justifies them taking over our business illegally,” he said on a call with journalists following the company's quarterly earnings statement.