Russia: X5 sells off stores in Ukraine

According to Ukrainian newspaper Capital, X5 Retail Group has agreed to make a deal with its local rival Varus and sell them its stores in the country. The estimated price of the deal is $5-10 million.

This is believed to be the first Russian company to pull out of Ukraine since Russia's annexation of the Crimea region. Reuters states that the deal has been in the pipeline since October 2013, but the Crimea crisis has sped up talks.

Varus is buying the lease rights to 13 Perekryostok stores in and near Kiev, as well as in-store facilities and stock.

However Reuters further reports X5 as saying that the contribution of the Ukrainian business to the group’s overall financial results is negligible. A 2013 financial reported listed 12 only stores in the Ukraine out of total of 4,544, most of which are situated in Russia.

Source: ESM / Reuters