Russia Puts Tarkett, Ontex Under State Management

RUSSIA · ANALYSIS

Russia keeps adding foreign-owned companies to a 2023 legal instrument that hands their control to the state or to managers it names. For US investors and executives, the mechanism matters because it lets Moscow take operational control without formally taking legal title, leaving recovery uncertain.

In mid-October 2026 Putin placed the Russian units of Tarkett, Ontex and three packaging groups under temporary management. This analysis explains the legal mechanics, what the earlier cases show about getting assets back, and what owners can realistically do, drawing on the Europe Intelligence Brief and Russian primary sources.

How Temporary Management Works

The legal basis is Presidential Decree No. 302, signed on 25 April 2023 and titled “On Temporary Management of Certain Property.” It covers movable and immovable property in Russia, shares in Russian companies, securities and property rights.

Moscow justifies the decree as a response to “unfriendly actions” by foreign states that deprive Russia or Russian owners of property abroad. It also cites national, economic and energy security interests.

The default manager is the Federal Agency for State Property Management, known as Rosimushchestvo, headed by Vadim Yakovenko. The president can name another manager, and in several recent cases he has chosen private Russian companies instead.

The manager exercises the owner’s powers, including inventory and preservation of the assets, but has no power to dispose of them. That means the foreign shareholder can remain the owner on paper while losing control over governance, cash flows and appointments.

Temporary management ends by decision of the President of Russia. The decree sets no fixed timetable and no court-based expiry date.

The tool is used through amendments. Each new case is a short decree that amends the property list attached to Decree No. 302, and the amendment takes effect on the day it is published.

The Original Targets and the 2023 Cases

The first list in 2023 named the Russian holdings of Germany’s Uniper (in the power producer Unipro) and of Finland’s Fortum. Moscow framed those cases as a reply to Germany and Finland taking steps against Russian-linked assets.

On 16 July 2023 Putin signed Decree No. 520, extending the list to Danone Russia and to Baltika Breweries, in which Carlsberg’s Swedish unit held 98.56% of the equity. Carlsberg had already agreed to sell its Russian business, and the decree made that sale uncertain.

These two cases also show that the measure can be reversed. A later decree removed Danone from the list in March 2024, and Carlsberg’s Baltika was also taken off before Carlsberg agreed to sell its shares to Baltika employees.

Reversal is possible, but it has come only after a presidential decision. It has also come in the context of a sale or exit negotiated with Russian authorities.

What Changed in 2026

The measure has kept growing this year. Decree No. 604 of 24 August 2026 created a second, separate ground for temporary management: owners of critical infrastructure who fail to secure it, including against drone attacks.

Under that decree the government decides on the president’s instruction, and Rosimushchestvo manages the assets while property rights do not formally end. It is broader than Decree No. 302 because it applies to Russian and foreign owners alike.

The same day Putin signed Decree No. 602, which went the other way. It removed the stakes in the Ken-Pak and Ken-Pak Zavod Upakovki companies, held by Poland’s Canpack and France’s Tapon France, from the temporary-management list.

On 31 August 2026 Decree No. 619 transferred 100% of the cable maker Dielectric Cable Systems, formerly held by Italy’s Adventus International, to a company called Development of Construction Assets. A decree of 17 September 2026 (No. 661) amended the list again, and reports named Auchan, Nestlé, Lemana PRO and FM Logistic among those affected.

On 28 September 2026 Decree No. 689 added the Russian units of Germany’s Metro group and named JSC UK Torg Rus as manager. Meduza, citing The Bell, reported that the company was registered on 8 September, about three weeks before the decree.

The Latest Decree: Tarkett, Ontex and Three Packaging Groups

Decree No. 738 of mid-October 2026 amended the list again. It places the Russian units of five companies under the management company Centre Capital (Tsentr Kapital).

The five are Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Menshen Packaging CIS, Ontex Ru and Eviosys Packaging Kuban.

Interfax described Kappa Rus as a paper-packaging maker formerly owned by Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa, and Ontex Ru as a hygiene-products maker of the Belgian Ontex group. It linked Eviosys Packaging Kuban to the Dutch unit of Sonoco and Menshen Packaging CIS to Germany’s Menshen.

In Tarkett’s case the decree covers shares of the Russian company Tarkett held by a Serbian Tarkett subsidiary, plus 100% of the company Tarkett Sommer. Tarkett makes flooring and, according to Meduza, has two plants in Russia, in the Moscow and Samara regions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the transfer a continuation of a trend and said all five companies come from unfriendly countries. He pointed to what he called the illegal detention of Russian money and the unlawful expropriation of Russian companies’ property in those countries.

Can Owners Get Assets Back?

Legally yes, but not automatically. Under Decree No. 302 the management ends by presidential decision, so the route back is political rather than judicial.

Past cases suggest several paths: a decree removing the assets from the list, a negotiated sale or exit, or a wider political settlement. Litigation in Russian courts or arbitration abroad is possible, but a foreign judgment is hard to enforce inside Russia.

The practical obstacles are large. Owners lose control of local management and records, cash extraction can be blocked, and sanctions may prevent payment even where a sale is permitted.

The assets can also lose value while under state-directed management. Investors should not treat the measure as an ordinary temporary receivership.

What It Means for the United States and Latin America

For US readers the issue is exposure. American and European groups with Russian subsidiaries face the same mechanism, and 2026 shows Moscow adding cases at a steady pace, including a US-linked packaging case reported in September.

The link to frozen Russian central-bank assets creates a second channel of risk. Moscow says its measures answer Western holds on Russian property, so any European step from immobilising those assets toward using the principal could prompt further retaliation.

For Latin America the relevance is indirect. The decree offers a template of state control without formal expropriation, which investors in strategic sectors will watch.

Brazilian and Mexican companies with European or US parents should check whether any Russian subsidiary could be affected. The same applies to supply links that run through Russia.

Investor Options

The first step is to separate three exposures: book value, control and recovery. Each needs its own analysis and its own mitigation.

Investors should read the exact decree and the Russian legal entities it lists. They should also track Russian corporate-register changes and parent-company impairment charges.

Before any sale or settlement they should map sanctions, export-control and payment restrictions. They should also preserve treaty and contract claims and check whether political-risk insurance or arbitration rights apply.

Valuations should be stress-tested under three scenarios: restoration, a forced sale and indefinite state control. Each scenario implies a different impairment and a different disclosure.

The Scenarios

The stabilising scenario is a broader political settlement that links asset restoration to the treatment of Russian property abroad. Temporary management could then be reversed by new decrees, as happened with Danone and Baltika.

The escalation scenario is a European move from immobilising income on frozen reserves to using the principal. That could trigger further retaliation against Western companies still operating in Russia.

A third scenario is creeping de facto nationalisation. Management stays formally reversible, but a later sale to a Russian buyer makes recovery harder.

What It Means for You

If you hold shares in a Western company with Russian operations, check whether the parent still claims control of its Russian subsidiary. Also look at whether it has impaired the investment and how it describes recovery in its latest filings.

If you are an executive with exposure to Russia, review the exact decree that affects your entities. Keep treaty, contract and shareholder-rights claims intact before any sale or settlement.

The central point is that “temporary” does not mean low-risk or short-term. Ownership may survive on paper while the state controls operations, and restoration depends on a new presidential decision.

What Is Not Known

The financial impact on each parent company is not yet clear. Their disclosures will show whether they still claim control, have impaired the investment or regard recovery as uncertain.

It is also not known whether Moscow will add more sectors or companies. Nor is it clear how Centre Capital will run the five businesses.

What to Watch

Watch for further amendments to the Decree No. 302 list and for any decree that removes assets from it. Both appear on the official legal portal on the day of signing.

Watch for parent-company statements on impairment and control. Watch also for EU and US decisions on Russian reserves, since Moscow ties its measures to them.

For wider context, see our Europe and Russia coverage and our report on how a Russia sanctions waiver leaves Latin American buyers exposed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is temporary management under Russian law?

Temporary management is a presidential decision that hands control of assets in Russia to a state-named manager, while title does not formally pass. It rests on Presidential Decree No. 302 of 25 April 2023, which targets property linked to countries Moscow calls unfriendly.

Who runs the assets?

The default manager is Rosimushchestvo, the federal property agency. The president can name another manager, and in the October 2026 case he named the company Centre Capital.

Which companies were hit most recently?

Decree No. 738 of mid-October 2026 covers the Russian units of Tarkett, Kappa Rus, Menshen Packaging CIS, Ontex Ru and Eviosys Packaging Kuban. Earlier 2026 decrees affected Metro, Auchan, Nestlé, Lemana PRO and FM Logistic, according to reports.

Can owners get their assets back?

Legally yes, but not automatically. Temporary management ends by presidential decision, as with Danone and Carlsberg’s Baltika, which were later removed from the list.

How does it differ from expropriation?

The manager can run the assets but cannot dispose of them, so the foreign shareholder can remain the formal owner. In practice the owner loses control over governance, cash flows and appointments.

What should investors do?

Investors should separate book-value, control and recovery exposure and read the exact decree. They should also track impairment charges and check political-risk insurance and arbitration rights.