Restaurateur Anton Pinskiy paid around 500 million roubles ($6 million) for assets formerly licensed by Starbucks in Russia, he told the TASS news agency, shedding new light on one of the many corporate exits from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Seattle-based Starbucks declined to comment. It had 130 stores in Russia, owned and operated by its licensee Alshaya Group, with nearly 2,000 employees in the country. Like many companies, it has not disclosed the sale price.

Pinskiy and rapper Timati unveiled their new brand, Stars Coffee, in August 2022, opening the bulk of acquired sites in September and October.

In an interview with TASS published on Tuesday, Pinskiy said some cafes had closed due to the terms of the lease, while others in new sites had opened. He said he paid around 500 million roubles.

"I think the money spent on acquiring and relaunching the assets will be returned by the end of the year," Pinskiy told TASS, with the chain now charging more on average and recovering from a slow start.

"Such a chance could not be missed," Pinskiy said, adding that he had also participated in the tender to buy McDonald's former restaurants in Russia and had even signed a preliminary contract before ultimately losing out to businessman and McDonald's franchisee Alexander Govor.

Corporate exits from Russia have typically involved huge discounts, with some buyers snapping up several assets on the cheap. The Kremlin has since December demanded a 50% discount on all transactions.

Asked whether the sale price constituted a discount, Pinskiy said: "It depends on what you mean with this word. We bought a closed business, that was not bringing in profit."

($1 = 83.7670 roubles)

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Jonathan Oatis)