Baltika, managed by the Federal Property Management Agency, recovers more than 84 billion rubles from Carlsberg Group

The Baltika brewing company, managed by the Federal Property Management Agency, continues to sue its foreign owner. Now the company is collecting 84.1 billion rubles from the structures of the Danish Carlsberg Group. losses that could arise as a result of dividend payments or transfer of rights to trademarks. The court’s decision in favor of Baltika may make it possible to foreclose on Carlsberg’s shares in the company, lawyers say.

Baltika appealed to the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region with a request to recover damages of 6.24 billion Danish crowns, or 84.1 billion rubles, from the Carlsberg Group structures. at the Central Bank rate. This was stated in the court ruling dated March 18, 2024. The defendants are Carlsberg Breweries A/S, Carlsberg Sverige Aktiebolag, Carlsberg Deutschland GmbH and Hoppy Union LLC. The last three companies own shares in Baltika, which have been managed by the Federal Property Management Agency since July 2023.

The court left the application without progress due to the absence of some documents and asked the plaintiff to justify the need to involve the Federal Property Management Agency as a third party. Baltika declined to comment. The Carlsberg Group and the Federal Property Management Agency did not answer Kommersant’s questions.

Baltika operates eight factories, where more than 50 brands are produced, including Baltika, Don, Arsenalnoye, Zatecky Gus, etc. It is considered the second beer producer in Russia after AB InBev Efes (brands Velkopopovicky Kozel, Stary Melnik iz barrel”, “Klinskoe”). After the transfer of shares in Baltika to the management of the Federal Property Management Agency, its founder Taimuraz Bolloev was appointed president of the company, and a conflict began between Baltika and Carlsberg.

Carlsberg announced the termination of licenses for international and regional brands with Baltika. And Baltika, in response, filed claims to invalidate the refusal of the agreement for the brands Seth & Riley’s Garage, Holsten, Kronenbourg, Tuborg, Carlsberg and Grimbergen. Mr. Bolloev, in a letter to the Federal Property Management Agency with a request to nationalize Baltika, also accused Carlsberg of “unfriendly and illegal actions,” in particular, of transferring licensing rights to the Baltika brand for use in 11 countries for a period of 20 years, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote. .

Pen & Paper partner Sergei Uchitel notes that the losses could have arisen as a result of foreign founders’ approval of transactions that resulted in unfavorable consequences for Baltika, which could include the payment of dividends. Managing partner of Novator Legal Group, Vyacheslav Kosakov, says that in the context of a difficult economic situation, the payment of dividends may indicate abuse or dishonesty. General Director of Online Patent Alina Akinshina believes that the requirements may be related to trademark licensing. Among the justification options, she names the limitation of Baltika’s ability to produce drinks under the Carlsberg brands and the damage caused by management’s actions to dispose of trademark rights.

The head of the litigation department of Patentus, Maxim Volkov, notes that the goal of Baltika may be the formation of debt of Carlsberg structures in order to close counterclaims by offset or to foreclose on property. The recovery of significant sums from foreign shareholders by a Russian court may then make it possible to foreclose on their shares, legalizing the process of depriving them of ownership of the asset, says Mr. Uchitel. Forward Legal lawyer Evgeniy Zubkov adds that Baltika may also file a demand for the seizure of the defendants’ assets as interim measures. Carlsberg, in its 2023 reporting, estimated the value of net assets from discontinued operations in Russia at DKK 7.5 billion, or RUB 101 billion. at the Central Bank rate.

According to Mr. Kosakov, if collection of funds from Carlsberg structures is applied to shares in Baltika, these shares may return to the company and then be sold to third parties. Managing partner of Skif Consulting Dmitry Demidenko notes that pressure on foreign founders may also be part of a complex strategy in the face of incoming threats to confiscate Russian assets abroad.

According to independent beer market expert Alexey Nebolsin, there are no threats to Baltika’s business in the context of the conflict with Carlsberg. In his opinion, Baltika in the current conditions can focus on promoting the flagship brand, and the departure of global brands will not lead to a significant decrease in production.

Anatoly Kostyrev