This Business Owner Is Making Billions From International Companies' Exodus In Russia

In an unexpected turn of events, Russian business owner Alexey Sagal has acquired assets worth nearly $1 billion as a result of international companies’ mass exit from Russia.

What Happened: According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Sagal’s Arnest Group has considerably benefitted from the business outflow from Russia, a consequence of President Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine.

Arnest Group’s newly acquired assets include former Heineken NV and Oriflame properties, propelling the company into the upper echelons of Russian business. This comes despite Sagal himself not being officially recognized as a billionaire.

The company was in the running for Carlsberg A/S’s Russian operations, with a bid of nearly $800 million, before the government took over and installed an ally of Putin as its manager.

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Arnest Group acquired Heineken NV’s Russian operations, including seven breweries, a month later.

“Neither Arnest nor any of the acquired companies are publicly traded, and therefore it is difficult to say without specialized procedures what a fair market valuation of these assets would be,” Sagal comments, epitomizing this shift.

International sanctions imposed due to the invasion have sidelined established billionaires, allowing entrepreneurs like Sagal to profit from the situation.

Why It Matters: The Kremlin has been closely monitoring the exit strategies of Western companies looking to leave Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Companies must now meet several conditions, like making state donations, selling assets at a significant discount, and having their exit plans approved by a government commission.

This development follows Russia’s policy of seizing assets from Western companies, which began several months ago. The Russian government temporarily gained control of assets belonging to major companies like Danone and Carlsberg.

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