BERLIN, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Germany’s Henkel aims to complete the sale of its Russian business as soon as possible, the head of its supervisory board told the NZ Zeitung, following an exit from chemicals and consumer goods announced this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have started the sales process,” Simone Bagel-Trah said in an interview published Thursday, adding that Henkel had narrowed down a significant list of potential buyers after many initially expressed interest.
“The process is ongoing and we want to complete it as soon as possible,” she said, adding that Russia has been an important market for Henkel, with 11 production sites and 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) in revenue.
Henkel said this month it had divested its Russian business for sale.
Bagel-Trah dismissed any suggestion that Henkel should be split into two separate units, saying she believed the current structure had advantages, such as internal synergies and a balanced portfolio.
“Furthermore, we have two businesses with a larger balance sheet. This may help, for example for larger acquisitions,” she told the Swiss newspaper.
The company’s goal, she said, is to build a consumer goods business that could make larger acquisitions.
Bagel-Trah is also concerned about developments in China. While the company wants to remain active there, it also wants to ensure that assets such as intellectual property or IT are not severely affected in the event of an “emergency”. She declined to elaborate.
($1 = 0.9427 EUR)
Reporting by Madeleine Chambers; Editing by Josie Gao
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