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Moscow: Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone has sold its assets in Russia, the company said on Wednesday, more than one year after suspending production in the country following the Kremlin's military intervention in Ukraine.
Moscow has tightened restrictions on hundreds of foreign companies seeking to exit the Russian market in the wake of the conflict, which is nearing its two-year anniversary.
"We can indeed confirm that our assets in Russia have been sold to S8 Capital, a diversified holding company," Bridgestone said in a statement to AFP.
Several major automotive companies established a presence in Russia in recent decades to capitalise on the country's expanding economy, but most have exited following the outbreak of large-scale hostilities in Ukraine.
Bridgestone has suspended manufacturing in Russia since March 2022, and stopped all investments in the country late last year and announced plans to sell off its assets.
The company's roughly 1,000 employees in Russia -- mostly employed in the western Ulyanovsk factory -- will be transferred to teams of the Russian buyer, the company said.
Bridgestone did not comment on the price of the deal, which was struck after the company "obtained all regulatory approvals including of the governmental commission."
Foreign companies have faced bureaucratic difficulties exiting Russia in recent months and Moscow has warned there will be no "free exits" while tightening regulations on companies trying to leave.
President Vladimir Putin must approve deals in the energy and finance sectors and departing companies must sell at a mandatory 50 percent discount and pay an exit tax worth 15 percent of the company's market value.
Putin this week signed a decree ordering that stakes held by the Austrian company OMV in an oil and gas project be transferred to the Russian state.
"OMV is currently examining the current facts to preserve its rights," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea, which had a significant presence in Russia before 2022, was also included in the presidential decree.
