A government commission has approved the sale of Swedish furniture maker IKEA's three plants in Russia to two Russian buyers, a government official was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Deputy Trade and Commerce Minister Viktor Yevtukhov told the daily Izvestia that kitchen worktop manufacturer Slotex and lumber producer Luzales would purchase the plants.
The factories would continue to operate and its production would be sold by Russian retail outlets. The Russian and Swedish companies, Izvestia said, would work out the terms of the sale, being negotiated nearly a year after Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
No details were announced.
IKEA decided to close its shops in Russia after Moscow launched what it describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Many other Western companies - from energy producers to food and clothing chains - have left Russia.
IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, shut down its Russian stores last March and said it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in Russia. It reopened for a brief online fire sale last summer, Reuters reports.
