(Bloomberg) -- Heineken NV has stopped the production and sale of its own brand beer in Russia, joining a wave of companies to exit the country in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The move expands on previous steps by the Dutch brewer, which had already halted all new investments in Russia as well as exports of other brands. Production, advertising and sale of the Heineken brand there will immediately halt, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Shares rose as much as 4.3% in early trading.
Heineken joins a growing list of companies leaving the Russian market amid an intensifying backlash over President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. Public pressure and boycotts of firms doing business in Russia has mounted in recent days as the war and humanitarian crisis have deepened.
Carlsberg AS, Russia's largest brewer through its ownership of Baltika Breweries, said last week that it's halting new investments in Russia as well as exports to the country from other Carlsberg companies. On Tuesday, McDonald's Corp., Coca-Cola Co. and Starbucks Corp. said they will temporarily halt business operations there.
“Heineken will no longer accept any net financial benefit derived from our Russian operations,” the company said. It added that it is now also assessing the strategic options for the future of the business in Russia where it has operated for two decades.
The company is also taking steps to ring-fence the Russian business from the wider group to “stop the flow of monies, royalties and dividends out of Russia.”
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