OREANDA-NEWS The French Auchan Group is in the final stages of selling its business in Russia, we are talking about a deal for its main asset in the Russian Federation — a division of Auchan LLC. This is reported by the newspaper La Lettre, citing sources.

It is noted that Auchan, which owns a chain of hypermarkets in Russia, managed to find a buyer for its subsidiary in the Russian Federation. At the same time, the interlocutors of the newspaper did not disclose the name of the future owner. "Auchan has found a local buyer to leave Russia," the article says.

Auchan has been operating in the Russian market since 2002. However, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the Auchan division began to function offline and stopped sending dividends to the parent company. Against this background, the management of Auchan decided to get rid of the problematic asset in the Russian Federation.

It is clarified that the Auchan group intends to leave soon not only the Russian, but also the Hungarian market. At the same time, it will maintain its presence in Ukraine. The founder of Auchan is French billionaire Gerard Mulier. "The Association Familiale Mulliez has made the choice to stay in Ukraine," La Lettre concluded.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade) of the Russian Federation warned about the risks of Auchan's departure from Russia at the end of 2023. In mid-April 2024, Auchan's subsidiary Ceetrus closed a deal to sell its assets in Russia. The new owner of its assets was the Trading Galleries company.

Updated: The Russian Auchan denied reports about the departure of retail from the country.