After more than 20 years in Russia, French retail giant Auchan is in the final stage of negotiations to sell its Russian subsidiary to local buyers. The business publication La Lettre reported on Thursday that Auchan has narrowed its options to two potential buyers after receiving multiple unsolicited expressions of interest.
Despite Auchan’s Russian subsidiary dismissing the reports as rumors, a potential sale could see Auchan facing a 60% discount and a 35% fee to the Russian government due to tightened exit rules for foreign companies.
Following calls for a boycott from Kyiv after Auchan’s decision to maintain operations in Russia during the Ukraine invasion, the Mulliez family-owned company employs around 30,000 people and operates 230 stores across the country.
Last year, Ukraine criticized Auchan as a “full-fledged weapon of Russian aggression” over claims that the company supplied goods to the Russian military. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.