(Reuters) -Italian water heating firm Ariston Holding said on Wednesday it had returned into possession of its Russian unit after President Vladimir Putin annulled last year’s decision to seize it.
Russia took control of the assets of a handful of Western companies, including the Ariston unit, in April 2024, saying at the time it was a “response to hostile actions” by the United States and its allies in the context of Western sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
“On March 26, 2025, Presidential Decree No. 176 of the Russian Federation reinstated Ariston Holding N.V. into the possession and full management of the shares of its Russian subsidiary,” the Italian company said in a statement.
Paolo Merloni, executive chairman of Ariston, welcomed the decision.
“We intend to resume activities with our Russian local leadership, adhering fully to existing sanctions, and continue our legacy in the country,” he said in a statement.
Ariston said its board would need to review its earlier decision, made in August last year, to deconsolidate its Russian unit, called Ariston Thermo Rus, and record the associated losses.
The Italian Foreign Ministry also welcomed the news.
“The (Russian) decision was the result of extensive work conducted by the Foreign Ministry, the Italian Embassy in Moscow and the Italian system,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that “some important Italian and European business associations active in Russia” had weighed in on Ariston’s behalf.
(Reporting by Laura Contemori, editing by Alvise Armellini, David Evans and Crispian Balmer)
