Baltika did not receive control over the Azerbaijani “daughter” – Kommersant

The Baltika brewing company cannot take control of its subsidiary Carlsberg Azerbaijan LLC (the legal entity of a large plant in Baku). This was stated in a letter from the first vice-president of Baltika, Alexander Dedegkaev, addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Overchuk and the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, which we have read “Vedomosti”.

In the letter, Mr. Dedegkaev said that on December 17, 2023, Baltika decided to change the general director of its subsidiary in Azerbaijan. However, “to date, the new management of the company has not been able to begin work due to the unreasonably prolonged registration procedure in the register of legal entities.”

Documents for registering the new head and composition of the supervisory board were submitted to the Azerbaijani tax office on October 20, but re-registration was refused due to an incomplete set of documents. A repeated package was sent on October 30, but another refusal was justified by the decision of the Sumgayit Administrative Court, prohibiting any registration actions regarding the management of the plant. Baltika filed a complaint against this decision. It was never considered on its merits. According to Mr. Dedegkaev, these actions are aimed at delaying the trial.

Despite the fact that the Russian company has no communication with its Azerbaijani subsidiary, the top manager highly evaluates the prospects for production in Baku and intends to continue the operational activities of the plant. In turn, Carlsberg Azerbaijan has withdrawn from circulation all products under the Baltika brand, which amounts to 30% of production volume.

According to Alexander Dedegkaev, such decisions by the subsidiary can lead to a reduction in personnel, a decrease in profits, and as a result cause negative consequences for tax contributions to the country’s budget. For this reason, the top manager asks Alexey Overchuk and Shahin Mustafayev to consider the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting with the participation of Baltika “to discuss the problem at the international level.”

After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Carlsberg decided to leave the Russian market and sell its Baltika Breweries. On July 16, 2023, Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which the shares of foreign companies in Baltika are transferred to the temporary ownership of the Federal Property Management Agency. On July 17, Taimuraz Bolloev was appointed president of the company, after which Carlsberg accused Russia of “stealing business.” Carlsberg Group acquired the plant in Baku in 2008. Its production capacity is 8 million decaliters per year.

More details in the material “When you leave, leave a beer.”.

Alexandra Goroshilova