The fast-food giant sold its assets to a local buyer
Customers enjoy their meals at a ‘Vkusno – i tochka’ restaurant on Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia. © Tian Bing / China News Service via Getty Images
The fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s posted a 3% drop in revenue in the first half of this year, partly due to its exit from the Russian market.
According to the company’s latest corporate report, “pre-tax charges related to the sale of the Company’s business in Russia” amounted to $1.3 billion in the first six months of this year.
McDonald’s temporarily closed restaurants in Russia in March joining an exodus of foreign firms in the wake of Western sanctions. Restaurants remained closed throughout the company’s sale to a local buyer in mid-June. “In order to ensure a successful transfer of the business in Russia to a buyer, the Company continued to pay employees and make lease payments through the date of the signed sale agreement”, McDonald’s said.
The global burger giant, which had over 800 locations in Russia, sold its assets to businessman Alexander Govor, who owned a company franchise, for an undisclosed amount, which he said, was much lower than the market price.
The restaurants have since reopened in Russia under the brand Vkusno i Tochka or Just Tasty.
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