Vičiūnai Group, a Lithuanian food production and distribution company co-owned by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis, sold its business operations in Russia and other eastern markets for just over 100 million euros in April 2024, a board member confirmed Friday.
Speaking to BNS, board member Dainius Matijošaitis said the deal covered the group’s business in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and other Russian-speaking countries, excluding Ukraine. He said the total transaction value was based on a multiple of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
“The part of our business that operated in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other Russian-speaking markets, excluding Ukraine, was sold at the beginning of last year for, roughly speaking, three times the EBITDA generated by that part of the business, which amounts to about 100 million and a bit in total,” Matijošaitis told BNS.
While the exact value of the transaction has not been officially disclosed, data reviewed by BNS and analysed by consulting experts estimate that Vičiūnai Group received approximately 76.7 million euros for 100 percent of shares in Kaliningrad-based Vičiūnai-Rus, a crab stick and fish product factory, and BaltKo, a related trading company, along with other indirectly owned entities.
In addition, VG Holding, the parent company of Vičiūnai Group, reportedly received an estimated 25.4 million euros for the sale of Russian logistics and transport-related firms, including Fort Trans Logistika, LK Centrus, Frost Logistics, RefTerminal, ViciRusTrans and several others.
Matijošaitis clarified that the structure of the group meant that some companies were sold directly by Vičiūnai Group and others by VG Holding. He warned that drawing conclusions from individual company records would “significantly distort the picture”.
“Accounting-wise, the company made a loss on this transaction, as the book value of the shares was slightly higher than the amount of the transaction,” he said.
The sale, finalised in April 2024, included 15 companies transferred to Russia’s Ocean Group. The Lithuanian company had been attempting to divest its Russian operations since spring 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vičiūnai Group, known for its seafood products under the “Vici” brand, had long faced public pressure to exit the Russian market in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
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