Vladimir Putin has issued a decree that effectively finalizes the state takeover of canned food producer Glavprodukt, which was founded in 1999 by Leonid Smirnov, a U.S. businessman of Russian origin. As The Insider previously reported, in 2024 the company was formally transferred to Russia’s federal property management agency, Rosimushchestvo. The move opens up the possibility for Glavprodukt assets to be sold to Russian buyers. The Insider found the change in a presidential decree published June 28.
Russia’s list of property under “temporary management” appeared in April 2023 in response to actions by foreign states — primarily sanctions — that Moscow deemed to be “unfriendly and contrary to international law.”The mechanism allows Russia to place real estate, securities, and stakes in Russian companies owned by people or entities from “unfriendly” countries under temporary management, usually by Rosimushchestvo.
The first assets affected were foreign stakes in the energy company Unipro, owned by Germany’s Uniper SA, and the generating company Fortum, owned by the Dutch company Fortum.
Glavprodukt, a well-known canned food producer, was transferred to Rosimushchestvo in October 2024.At the time, the state took over management of 100% stakes in Glavprodukt, the Baltic Canning Plant, United Canning Plants, Orelprodukt, and the Verkhovye Dairy and Canning Plant. All were owned by Promselkhozinvest LLC, which was founded by the American corporation Universal Beverage Company. Russian authorities cited the owner’s U.S. origin as the reason for intervention.
Later, in July 2025, a court ordered the holding’s assets nationalized.
Despite those formal changes, Glavprodukt remained listed under Rosimushchestvo’s temporary management. The new presidential decree removes Glavprodukt and stakes in other companies in the holding from the external management system.
Formally, this may mean the holding has been definitively transferred to state control — no longer temporarily, but permanently — with a possible sale to follow. In February, Glavprodukt’s management company was changed to RSHB-Finance LLC, a structure linked to the Russian Agricultural Bank.
A similar process occurred in connection with JSC Danone Russia, a subsidiary of the French dairy giant. Foreign-owned stakes in the company were transferred to Rosimushchestvo in July 2023, and the decision was canceled in March 2024. Two months later, Danone’s Russian assets were sold to a company from Tatarstan.
Read more about the takeover of Glavprodukt in our report.
