Swiss industrial group Oerlikon, whose investors include a Russian oligarch, became Thursday the latest Western firm to announce its exit from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oerlikon said in a statement that it has entered into an agreement with the local management team to sell all its operations in Russia.
“The business will continue to operate independently under the new owners,” the statement said.
The company employs 48 people in Russia across six locations, with sales below five million Swiss francs ($5.2 million, 4.9 million euros) last year, it said.
Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg indirectly held an interest of 44.5 percent in Oerlikon as of December 31 through the Liwet investment firm.
Vekselberg was added to a US sanctions list in 2018.
Oerlikon, whose business includes surface solutions such as coatings for auto components or oil drilling equipment, made 2.6 billion Swiss francs in revenues globally in 2021.
The company had already stopped all international cross-border activities with Russia on March 4.
Another Swiss industrial group in which Vekselberg has invested, Sulzer, announced last week its own decision to sell its Russian business.
Hundreds of Western businesses have suspended or ceased activity in Russia since the war erupted on February 24.
