IKEA has sold its factory in the Russian city of Novgorod to the local firm Invest Plus, a move over a year after the well-known Swedish furniture retailer halted its operations in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine.
IKEA halted all retail and production operations in Russia after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, along with scores of other Western companies. However, IKEA briefly resumed online sales last summer, and a part of the company still operates 14 MEGA-branded shopping malls in Russia.
Local media in February reported that Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores, had started looking for buyers for the malls.
"The (Novgorod factory) sales process has been structured to find a new owner with a strong plan and capability to develop the business," brand owner Inter IKEA Group told Reuters.
The parties did not disclose the sum of the deal nor details regarding its terms.
"The process of concluding the deal was not easy and quite lengthy," Invest Plus CEO Vadim Osipov said in a statement, thanking all parties involved – IKEA, Russian and Swedish regulators, and Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade.
"Our goal is to return the highly popular and quality production of the Novgorod factory to Russia's furniture market as quickly as possible," Osipov said.
Exits by Western companies have been complicated as deals involving firms from the so-called unfriendly countries that imposed sanctions against Russia need approval from a government commission.
Invest Plus is a particular purpose vehicle (SPV), beneficially owned by Osipov, CEO, and co-owner of Slotex, a leading domestic producer of laminates and kitchen worktops.
The Russian government approved the sale to Slotex in February, giving lumber manufacturer Luzales the right to finalize a deal for two other plants.
The Novgorod factory was the largest of IKEA's former production units in Russia, Invest Plus said, producing more than 7 million cabinets and kitchen furniture units annually.
The company has retained the backbone of the factory's workforce and said it would guarantee jobs for at least a year. It expects to resume total production in the next two to three months.
