Russia puts AB-InBev-Efes under “temporary management”

Russia | Will AB-InBev-Efes befall the same fate as Carlsberg’s Russian unit Baltika? In a novel twist, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, on 30 December 2024, signed a decree which placed AB-InBev-Efes’s Russian operations under temporary management. The decree involved handing over all of the joint venture’s assets to a firm called “GK Vmeste”.

This is the first seizure of Turkish-owned assets in Russia. The news sent Anadolu Efes’ and Anadolu Holding’s stock down by 10 percent the same day.

This decision marks a pivotal moment for the Russian brewing industry, as AB-InBev-Efes was the last major brewer with direct foreign ownership. Also, Turkey was seen as a “friendly” country by Russia, unlike Heineken and Carlsberg, which are headquartered in “unfriendly” European countries.

The future is unclear

Incidentally, GK Vmeste is not to be confused with the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) which took over the management of Baltika until it was sold in a management buyout in December 2024. GK Vmeste was only registered in Moscow in August 2024 and the general director is one Nikolai Tyurnikov. Little else is known about GK Vmeste.

AB-InBev-Efes is the Russian beer market leader, operating eleven breweries and three maltings across the country, and selling 22.3 million hl beer in 2023. The joint venture was established in 2018 between Anadolu Efes and AB-InBev.

Since late 2023, Anadolu Efes has been making efforts to acquire its partner’s shares, but the proposed structure was rejected by a Russian government commission during the summer. In October, Anadolu Efes and AB-InBev agreed to swap stakes in their businesses in Russia and Ukraine. Under the deal, the Turkish brewer would become the sole owner of the Russian business, while AB-InBev would acquire the Ukrainian unit. AB-InBev had previously wanted to sell control of both operations to Anadolu Efes, but Russia objected to that plan.

This also puts the Ukrainian part of the deal in jeopardy, which was conditional on regulatory approvals, including a green light from the Kremlin. Per Ukrainian media, AB-InBev-Efes Ukraine posted losses of USD 22 million on revenues of USD 125 million in 2023. The company’s breweries in Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv were damaged during the war.

Russian media: clueless

What prompted Mr Putin’s decision? Russian media speculated that the financial structuring of the proposed takeover by Anadolu Efes might have undervalued the joint venture; or it could be politically motivated, with Moscow being unhappy with Turkey’s involvement in Syria; a reaction to Belgium’s Euroclear sending Russian frozen funds to Ukraine, or a combination of all these factors.

In the first nine months of 2024, Anadolu Efes’ beer revenues amounted to approximately USD 1.97 billion, with about 60 percent coming from Russia. The company also operates fully-owned breweries in Moldova, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.