Free Republic

The Kremlin’s move to seize the Russian assets of Carlsberg and Danone is Moscow’s most brazen attack yet on foreign firms operating in Russia, and is likely to trigger fresh concern among businesses that have continued operating in the country, experts said. President Vladimir Putin is handing control of the Russian subsidiaries of French food maker Danone and Danish brewer Carlsberg to regime loyalists, according to local media reports and government corporate registries, in a move that amounts to an expropriation of assets valued at well over $1 billion. Both companies have huge operations in Russia and had publicly said...

A nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been appointed the new head of Russia's Danone subsidiary (DANO.PA) after the Kremlin ordered the state to take temporary control of the French yoghurt maker's business in Russia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many Western companies have fled Russia and some assets have been put under state management, with close allies of President Vladimir Putin gaining day-to-day control. Many investors say a new generation of tycoons is being created in Russia. Loyalty to the Kremlin is rewarded with effective control over assets that garner significant cash-flow and have major growth potential.

French food conglomerate Danone is embroiled in a bitter dispute with a Chinese joint venture partner. The quarrel reveals just how fragile business deals in China still are today. The Chinese protestors headed straight for the Portman Ritz Carlton, a Shanghai luxury hotel. They wore yellow caps and yellow shirts, and they were carrying huge protest banners that read, in blood-red characters: "Traitors and watchdogs will come to no good," and "We want Chairman Zong. Under no circumstances do we want Danone." The spectacle was short-lived. The police quickly moved in and removed the troublemakers from the scene. But their...