Kremlin not aware of request to seize Coca-Cola HBC's Russian assets, spokesman says

By Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The Kremlin is not aware of a request by a Siberian brewer for President Vladimir Putin to place Europe-focused bottler Coca-Cola HBC's CCH.BN, Russian assets under temporary management, a spokesman said on Monday.

Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday that beer maker Bochkari had sent the letter and also asked to be appointed as temporary manager of the assets. Following the report, Coca-Cola HBC's London-listed shares plummeted 18% before stabilising on Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied knowledge of the letter in a statement at a daily news briefing on Monday, sending Coca-Cola HBC's shares up by over 4%.

Russia has in the last few months seized the assets of other foreign businesses, including French supermarket chain Auchan, Swiss food giant Nestle NESN.S, and most recently Japan Tobacco 2914.T. Some of those takeovers were preceded by similar requests from local firms, according to letters leaked to Russian media.

Coca-Cola HBC is a Swiss-registered bottling company that is 21% owned by the US beverage giant. Coca-Cola KO.N, like many other Western companies, officially withdrew from Russia in 2022 after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine.

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Coca-Cola HBC said on November 5 that it had not received any notification from Russian authorities of changes to its operations in the country. Those operations have been run locally on a self-standing basis since 2022, it added.

According to Kommersant, Bochkari's letter cited Coca-Cola's sponsorship of global sporting events from which Russian athletes are barred due to the Ukraine war among its justifications for the request.

Bochkari is owned by businessman Vadim Smagin, an avid ice hockey fan who was photographed with Putin after a 2018 amateur match in Siberia, where Putin signed his jersey.

Bochkari did not respond to a Reuters request for comment about the letter.

Russia has mostly spared US companies in its recent takeovers of foreign-owned assets since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and the two countries last year opened talks on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

The American Chamber of Commerce estimates that some 300 US firms remain in Russia.

In its latest financial report, Coca-Cola HBC said its Russian unit had accumulated over $1 billion in cash as of July 3, 2026, which it cannot repatriate due to current restrictions.