Russia Grabs Nestle, Auchan Assets in Biggest Seizure Since 2024
(Bloomberg) — Russia took control of the local businesses of Swiss food giant Nestle SA and French supermarket chain Auchan in the Kremlin’s largest takeover of foreign corporate assets since at least 2024 amid rising tensions with Europe.
President Vladimir Putin ordered their stakes in Russian businesses placed under temporary administration by a company called AO L.E.V. Menedzhment, according to a decree published late Thursday on the country’s official legal portal.
That company was registered in Moscow in 2024 with charter capital of just 15,000 rubles ($177) and a single employee, according to Russian registry data. It had little public profile before the decree.
The Kremlin’s surprise action against Nestle and Auchan highlights the increasingly difficult business environment faced by international companies that remain in Russia. More than a thousand businesses left the country after Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Moscow was hit with multiple rounds of international sanctions. Still, many major names including PepsiCo Inc., Mondelez International Inc. and Raiffeisen Bank International AG continue to operate in Russia under growing restrictions, although have scaled back their operations.
Russia has taken over dozens of international assets since 2023, when it amended legislation to create a temporary management mechanism allowing the state to seize control of holdings owned by companies from countries it considers “unfriendly.” They include the local units of Finnish utility Fortum Oyj, French yogurt maker Danone SA and Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S.
Orders for temporary management have often been followed by transfers of assets to Russian buyers approved by the authorities, many of them with links to the Kremlin. Danone and Carlsberg had their assets briefly returned to them, but were then required to sell them to Russian companies.
The Kremlin has also made it increasingly difficult for foreign companies to leave Russia. Transactions involving investors from “unfriendly” countries require sellers to accept a discount of at least 60% and there is also a special exit tax.
In August, Putin signed a law allowing Russian courts to block foreign investors that left the country after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine from buying back assets they had sold. He has repeatedly said that reentering the Russian market will be difficult.
Still, his late-night decree on Nestle and Auchan was unexpected, though local media in Russia reported in August that such a move was possible. The Kremlin hadn’t used the mechanism against assets of comparable value since at least 2024, when plants belonging to AB InBev Efes, a joint venture between Belgian brewer AB InBev and Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, were placed under temporary management.
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Nestle has operated in Russia since the 1990s but scaled back its business after 2022, suspending some brands and halting non-essential imports and exports, as well as advertising and capital investment. The Swiss food giant has six plants in Russia, where it continued to produce what it described as essential and everyday food products.
Russia accounts for about 2% of Nestle’s global sales, equivalent to roughly 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) annually. Nestle says it has more than 7,000 employees in Russia.
French retailer Auchan was among the early wave of major Western consumer businesses to expand into Russia, opening its first store there in 2002. The company went on to build a sprawling network of stores, and now operates 230 supermarkets and hypermarkets across the country, according to its website.
Nestle said in a statement Friday that it took note of Putin’s decree and was assessing the situation and its options. “Nestle is committed to taking all necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of business operations in the interests of all stakeholders, particularly its employees,” it said.
An Auchan representative didn’t immediately comment late Thursday, and the company has yet to publicly state its position.
Earlier this year, a little-known company, KS Logistics, asked Putin to place Nestle’s local entities under temporary management, the Kommersant newspaper reported, a move that could potentially pave the way for a change in ownership. Nestle told the outlet then it hadn’t received any inquiries from Russian authorities and that its offices and factories continued to operate.
It is not clear whether KS Logistics has any connection to L.E.V. Menedzhment. The latter appointed Andrey Krayushkin as its new chief executive officer just last week, according to Russian registry data.
Krayushkin served until at least 2020 as first deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s migration department and held the rank of major general, Russian opposition outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Thursday, citing databases it said were in its possession. Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify the claim.
–With assistance from Angelina Rascouet, Fabienne Kinzelmann and Emily Cohn.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
