The Kremlin is reported to be unaware of an attempt by a Russian brewer to put the local assets of Coca-Cola HBC under its control.
On Thursday (5 November), the Russian business daily Kommersant, reported that the local brewer and soft-drinks producer Bochkari had called for the external management of Multon JSC and Multon Partners, Coca-Cola HBC’s subsidiaries in the country.
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The publication said the Altai-based Bochkari filed the proposal in mid-October, proposing it should act as interim manager, citing “several sources familiar with the situation”.
Reuters today reported Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, had “denied knowledge of the letter” through a statement shared at a news briefing.
Shares in Coca-Cola HBC were up 0.87% on the London Stock Exchange at 4,224p at 16:39 GMT.
The group’s shares had slumped following the news, dropping 17.88% to 4,052p at the close of trading on Thursday.
Coca-Cola HBC’s 2025 annual report showed the company stated net sales revenue from external customers of €1.61bn ($1.8bn) in Russia last year.
According to the sources in Kommersant’s report last week, Bochkari’s request was sent to the Russian government for consideration. According to one source the request received partial backing from a deputy prime minister.
Multon Partners told the publication a local management team runs the business and that it had received no notification of the reported measures.
In a stock-exchange filing on Thursday, Coca-Cola HBC said it had “received no notification from the Russian government of any changes to its operations in Russia, which have been operated locally on a self-standing basis since 2022”.
The company added: “Coca-Cola HBC does not rely on income or capital from its Russian business to fund the group’s operations outside Russia or to service the group’s indebtedness.”
Nestlé had its operations in Russia placed under “temporary administration” in September.
The interests, held by Société des Produits Nestlé and Nestlé Deutschland, are to be managed by Russian joint-stock company LEV Management.
Nestlé insisted following the news there had been no “change of ownership” of its Russia business.
In an earnings call the following month, the Nespresso coffee maker’s CFO Anna Manz said the move did not impact Nestlé’s underlying sales but would hit its reported sales and underlying operating profit.
