UAE Firm Buys BAT’s St. Petersburg Assets

BFI Holding of the United Arab Emirates has purchased the St. Petersburg asset of BAT, reports Kommersant, citing data from Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

According to the Abu Dhabi Global Market registry, one of BFI Holding’s owners is Faruk Ener, who previously was responsible for Russia, Turkiye, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Belarus at BAT.

BAT started operating in Russia in 1991. Three years later, the company began producing its own tobacco products in St. Petersburg. After the start of hostilities in Ukraine in May 2022, BAT announced the suspension of investments in Russia and later transferred the business in Russia and Belarus to a consortium led by the Russian