Unilever has sold its Russian assets to a billionaire businessman known as the “hairspray king” for a reported €520m (£430m) after the consumer goods giant was branded a “sponsor of war” by campaigners.
London-listed Unilever, which owns Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s, said on Thursday that it had sold its Russian subsidiary to Arnest Group, a perfume, cosmetics and household goods manufacturer run by Alexey Sagal.
He is reported to have also put in a near-$800m (£600m) bid for Carlsberg’s Russian business, but that was eventually taken control of by the Russian government.
The rapid growth of his empire – which was valued at more than $1bn by Bloomberg last year – has been aided by new laws on Western assets that force them to be sold at a major discount to Russian buyers.
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***The Telegraph reports:***
Unilever has sold its Russian assets to a billionaire businessman known as the “hairspray king” for a reported €520m (£430m) after the consumer goods giant was branded a “sponsor of war” by campaigners.
London-listed Unilever, which owns Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s, said on Thursday that it had sold its Russian subsidiary to Arnest Group, a perfume, cosmetics and household goods manufacturer run by Alexey Sagal.
Mr Sagal has proved a major beneficiary of Western companies’ exodus from Russia. He snapped up the [assets of Heineken’s Russian subsidiary](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/08/25/heineken-beers-disappear-russia-brewer-sells-local-business/) for just €1, alongside those of the cosmetics company Oriflame and the US aluminium can maker Ball Group at a hugely discounted price.
He is reported to have also put in a near-$800m (£600m) bid for Carlsberg’s Russian business, but that was eventually taken control of by the Russian government.
The rapid growth of his empire – which was valued at more than $1bn by Bloomberg last year – has been aided by new laws on Western assets that force them to be sold at a major discount to Russian buyers.
**Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/10/billionaire-hairspray-king-buys-unilevers-russia-division/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/10/billionaire-hairspray-king-buys-unilevers-russia-division/)
They will miss this in 5 years