Otis Sells Russia Business Unit to Russian Company

As the war in Ukraine continues, Otis announced in July on the company website that it sold its operations in Russia to Ice Development, a company based in Russia, CT Insider reports. Terms of the deal were not released. The sale comes after a March announcement by Otis officials that the company would stop taking new equipment orders and cease investing in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The Russian company “expects to resume full production at the Otis St. Petersburg manufacturing site under a new brand name,” Otis said. According to the source, “the sale by Otis is complicated by the fact that the company’s product line is based on technologies that a buyer would not be expected to have.” It was unclear from the announcement how, when and whether Otis would sell or transfer technology to Ice. Otis shares were up by 2.5% in mid-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange July 27, with a sharp bump at the start of trading following the pre-market announcement.