BAT signs deal to sell Russia, Belarus businesses

British American Tobacco on Thursday said it had finally signed a deal to sell its Russian and Belarusian businesses to a consortium led by local management.

The owner of Lucky Strike and Dunhill brands announced last year that the ownership of its operations in Russia "was no longer sustainable in the current environment" after Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Post completion of the deal the two businesses will be known as the ITMS Group. BAT did not provide any financial details, but maintained guidance for the full year and said it was confident of meeting expectations after the sale.

"We anticipate that the transaction will complete within the next month, once certain conditions have been satisfied. Upon completion, BAT will no longer have a presence in Russia or Belarus and will receive no financial gain from ongoing sales in these markets," the company said in a statement.

BAT's operations in Russia include a head office in Moscow, 75 regional offices and a manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg. It also has an office in Belarus. At June 30 they accounted for approximately 2.7% of group revenue, and approximately 2.5% of group adjusted profit from operations.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com