VW completes sale of Kaluga plant in Russia

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen has completed the sale of its Kaluga production plant in Russia and its local subsidiaries, the German carmaker said on Friday, ending months of wrangling with Russian authorities over the deal.

Volkswagen has sold its shares in Volkswagen Group Rus LLC to Art-Finance LLC, which is supported by autodealer group Avilon, VW said in a statement.

The transaction includes the production facilities in Kaluga, the importer structure comprising of distribution and after-sales business, and the warehousing and financial services activities with all its employees, the statement added.

The group did not give details on the price. According to a source familiar with the matter, the deal is valued at 125 million euros ($138 million).

Work at the plant in Kaluga, south of Moscow, has been furloughed since March 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Western countries to sanction Moscow leading to a breakdown in supply chains.

It has a production capacity of 225,000 vehicles a year and over 4,000 employees.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Rachel More; editing by Bartosz Dabrowski)