France's Schneider Electric Reaches Deal For Russian Unit

(July 4, 2022, 5:16 PM BST) -- French energy company Schneider Electric SE said on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to sell off its Russian subsidiary to the local management as part of its plan to divest assets in the country after the invasion of Ukraine.

Schneider said that it had signed a sale agreement on Sunday for Schneider Electric Russia and its operations and that the transaction would require local regulatory approval by Russian authorities and other conditions. It declined to disclose the value of the deal.  

The Russian subsidiary accounted for only 2% of the company's total sales in 2021, according to Schneider's statement. The French company said it is projecting a net value loss of €300 million ($313 million) for 2022 with the expected sale of its Russian branch and its divestment from the country since February.

Schneider is also planning to recover €17 million from its holdings that are in rubles, a substantially lower amount than the €120 million the company was hoping to recover in April, as the value of the Russian currency has plummeted, according to a Schneider representative.

The company continues to dispose of assets in Russia as its aims to leave the country following the invasion of Ukraine, and as businesses, services and products in the country have been increasingly affected by Western sanctions, a representative said.

"In Russia, the path forward is a business owned and operated as a local company," a Schneider representative told Law360 on Monday.

The company did not say when the sale is expected to close. 

Schneider announced on April 27 that it would sell off its Russian branch through an "orderly transfer" and that it would support its 3,500 employees in Russia and its ally, Belarus, while the transaction is underway.

The French company has paused its investments in Russia and Belarus since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. It has also stopped its shipments of new orders bound for the two countries.

Counsel information for Schneider was not immediately available on Monday.

--Editing by Joe Millis.

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