In a statement on Monday, the French company said it had agreed to sell Renault Russia to the city of Moscow and its stake of nearly 68% in Lada parent Avtovaz to a state-owned industry research center.
Renault is keeping open the option of returning to Russia — the deal gives the company various windows to buy back its interest in Avtovaz over the next six years, the company added.
“Today, we have taken a difficult but necessary decision; and we are making a responsible choice towards our 45,000 employees in Russia, while preserving the Group’s performance and our ability to return to the country in the future, in a different context,” Renault CEO Luca de Meo said in the statement.
Renault announced on March 23 that it was suspending activities at its Moscow factory and would take a charge of nearly 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to write down the value of its Russian business to zero.
Avtovaz’s Lada brand represented nearly 21%…
