Heineken says still plans to quit Russia once buyer is found

Dutch giant brewer Heineken said Wednesday that it still planned to exit Russia, after a media report accusing it of “breaking a promise” to leave over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Dutch investigative website, Follow the Money, said the Amsterdam-based brewer was still operating in Russia despite a promise last year to stop investing.

Although Heineken stopped selling its namesake beer, it had launched 61 new products on the Russian market, including at least three types of beer under its Amstel brand, the report said.

But Heineken in a statement said “the reports that ‘Heineken broke its promise to leave Russia’ is absolutely untrue and misleading.”

Although its Russia-based operation is still running, it is “to prevent nationalisation and to ensure that livelihoods are not endangered,” it said.

“We are working hard to secure the transfer of our company in Russia to a reliable buyer under very difficult circumstances,” Heineken said.

It said it expected a loss of around €300 million (£264m) from the sale.

“We aim to complete the sale of our Russian business in the first half of 2023,” Heineken said.

Heineken was among major Western brands that announced pullouts from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.