The key facts

  • Putin's decree introduced temporary management of the assets of Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Onteks RU, Eviosis Pekedjing Kuban and Mensen Pakajing SNG
  • Tarkett has 34 plants, two of them in Russia
  • Reuters describes the measures as a response to sanctions; the fate of the UniCredit and Raiffeisen units has not yet been decided

Decree on temporary management

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree transferring the Russian assets of Tarkett to the temporary management of another company. According to DW, citing the decree, the decision affects the shares of the joint-stock company Tarkett, which belongs to Tarkett, registered in the Serbian town of Backa Palanka. The decree also introduces temporary management of the assets of other foreign companies in Russia: 12,565 shares of Kappa Rus, as well as 100-percent stakes in Onteks RU, Eviosis Pekedjing Kuban and Mensen Pakajing SNG.

About Tarkett

Tarkett produces flooring for residential, commercial, industrial and sports facilities. According to DW, the company has 34 plants, two of which are located in Russia, as well as eight facilities for recycling used flooring.

Context and reaction

In September, the assets of Lemana Pro — the former Russian business of Nestle, Metro, Auchan and Leroy Merlin — had already been placed under temporary management. Reuters, citing sources in the Russian government, characterizes the measures targeting the assets of major Western companies that continued operating in Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a retaliatory campaign against sanctions. The agency's sources did not rule out that temporary external management could also be introduced in the Russian units of UniCredit and Raiffeisen banks, but no decision on this matter has been reported.