Reported by: Alexander Marrow and Supantha Mukherjee

SAP (SAPG.DE) will miss its deadline to exit Russia before the end of the year as the German software group has failed to find a buyer for the unit, five sources told Reuters, underscoring the difficulties some companies are facing to leave the country.

The Walldorf, Germany-based enterprise software company in April joined Oracle Corp (ORCL.N), Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) and others in announcing plans to exit Russia after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, prompting a slew of Western sanctions on Russian companies and business people.

SAP’s software helps businesses manage a broad range of functions from marketing and human resources to logistics and procurement.

Its Russian clients have included behemoths in the energy, banking and mining sectors, such as state energy firm Gazprom (GAZP.MM), dominant lender Sberbank (SBER.MM) and mining giant Nornickel (GMKN.MM).

SAP has stopped providing support services to companies targeted by Western sanctions, according to the sources. While Gazprom and Sberbank were hit by Western sanctions, Nornickel was not.

The withdrawal of some of SAP’s services in Russia has already disrupted industries generating billions in revenue that are vital to the Russian economy, according to executives and analysts.

The SAP case sheds light on the complications Western companies face leaving Russia.

Read full report: https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-sap-delays-russia-exit-deal-talks-fail-workers-risk-2022-10-24/