Lantmännen Group: has divested its Russian operations

Stockholm / SE. (lg) The processes to divest the operations in Russia are now complete, which means that Lantmännen Group has left the country and the market now in full. In March of 2022, Lantmännen’s operations in Russia were separated and isolated from the rest of the group, pending a divestment. These operations have since acted entirely independently, and their results have not been consolidated.

Due to factors out of our control, the divestment process has taken longer than we both wished for and expected. The conditions for exiting Russia in a structured manner are complex, and legislation has continuously been changing. As previously communicated, finalization of the processes has been pending approvals from Russian authorities, due to demands in new Russian legislation.

In connection with the divestments being finalized, a net sale loss of some 385 MSEK is generated. During 2022, the assets in Russia were also written down by a total of 500 MSEK.

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Addendum: Germany’s GTAI quotes economist Vladislav Inosemtsev as saying that Western companies operating in Russia have already lost up to 28.7 billion EUR in assets through forced sales. Despite official statements to the contrary, Russia has no interest in an exodus of Western companies. The Commission for the Control of Foreign Investments is deliberately slowing down the exit process. Only about ten permits are issued per month, GTAI quotes Novaya Gazeta. Since March 2022, only 200 sales with a total value of about 100 billion USD have been completed, he said. There are currently a good 700 applicants on the waiting list. The Russian commission is taking a less than transparent approach to granting permission for withdrawal and is treating companies depending on their benefit to the Russian economy. The suspension of double taxation agreements with «unfriendly states», which was initiated some weeks ago, suggests that Russia is ready to dismantle further bridges to Europe. For more information and a deeper understanding refer to «Taxes and duties: What effects Russia still sees in Europe» («Steuern und Abgaben: Welche Effekte Russland in Europa noch sieht») on backnetz:eu.