Finland's Kesko divests Russian sports goods chain

Finland's second-biggest retailer Kesko has sold all of its Intersport sporting goods stores in Russia, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

The 16 stores were sold to a Russian retailer last month, the spokesman said, but did not disclose the name of the buyer or the price of the deal.

Kesko announced the plan to sell or close the loss-making business in February. In 2015, the business saw sales drop 17 percent to 12 million euros.

In May, Kesko said it has also examined selling its grocery operations in Russia, but this has not resulted in any negotiations.