Holcim divests business in Russia

(Reuters) - Holcim said on Wednesday it would exit Russia, adding that the business there would then operate independently under a different brand.

Holcim sold its Russian unit to the local management team, it added.

The sale will have no significant impact on the world's biggest cement maker, as the unit generated less than 1% of the group's net sales in 2021, it further said.

The group first deconsolidated its Russian unit and announced it would leave the country in March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The company initially kept its operations running, saying it was supplying essential building materials.

"Holcim's Board of Directors expresses its heartfelt concern about the tragic human suffering in the region" the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Tristan Chabba, Anastasiia Kozlova, Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Paul Carrel)