Danish beermaker Carlsberg has announced a deal to sell off its Russian business as it becomes the latest major western brand to permanently leave the country.

Carlsberg, which last year said it expected a writedown of around $1.45 billion from a sale of the business, is Russia’s most-imported Western brewer. Before excluding Russia from its Central and Eastern Europe market in 2022, 10 per cent of its revenue came from the country.

The sale comes as a direct result of Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The company did not name the buyer or the agreed price for the transaction. The deal is expected to be subject to an extensive review by regulators in Moscow with tensions in the country at a high following the Wagner militia group’s short-lived coup last weekend.

In a statement, Carlsberg chief exec Cees 't Hart said that the sale would not impact its 2023 earnings expectations. He said: "The signing of an agreement to sell the Russian business is a very important milestone in the highly complex separation and selling process.

"While it has been an extensive process, it has been important for us to reach the best possible solution for all stakeholders, including our more than 8,000 employees in Russia.”

In March, Carlsberg said that it was hoping to announce a sale of its Russian business by June and that it was seeking an option to buy back the unit in the future when political tensions die down.

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