Coca-Cola HBC shares plunge 18% over fears for its Russian business

Shares of Swiss-based Coca-Cola HBC dropped 18% on Thursday. The reason: reports that its business in Russia could be taken over.

According to the reports, Bochkari, a brewer and soft drink maker from Russia's Altai region, has asked President Vladimir Putin to place Multon and Multon Partners under external management. Multon bottled Coca-Cola's international brands in Russia until 2022. It is still one of the country's largest soft drink producers.

Coca-Cola HBC says it has received no notification from the Russian authorities about this.

A quick look back

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Coca-Cola HBC said it would suspend Coca-Cola brand operations in Russia, but it kept running its local business, later under local brands. In December 2022 the company said it was reviewing its Russian operations, which had become a smaller part of the group.

For now, it is only a request. Whether the Russian authorities will act on it is unknown.