Unilever sells Russian business

Unilever has announced the sale of its Russian business following mounting pressure on the cosmetics and personal care giant.

The move was revealed in a statement from group’s CEO Hein Schumacher, who said that the subsidiary was offloaded to Arnest Group, a Russian manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics and household products.

The sale will include all of Unilever’s business in Russia, as well as its four factories in the country and its business in Belarus.

Schumacher continued: "Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. This work has been very complex, and has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic.

"The completion of the sale ends Unilever Russia’s presence in the country."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.