By Ceyda Caglayan

ISTANBUL (Reuters – Turkish shoe retailer FLO Magazacilik wants to acquire more than 100 Reebok Russian stores, FLO Chairman Mehmet Zeylan announced on Monday. The move comes as Western businesses rush to meet sanctions regarding the Ukraine conflict.

Ziylan stated that no deal had been reached, contradicting reports in Kommersant suggesting that the company has already taken over the business.

Ziylan said to Reuters, “We are speaking but there is no more definite.”

Kommersant quoted a source close FLO Retailing who said that the deal was done and over 100 Reebok stores in Russia were now under the control of the Turkish company.

Reebok is owned by Authentic Brands Group. Reebok could not be reached immediately due to its early hours in America.

The U.S. firm suspended Russian e-commerce and brand stores in March.

Kommersant stated that analysts had indicated to Kommersant that FLO’s first shops could be valued at as much as 1.5 Billion roubles (24.8 Million).

Ziylan stated that FLO makes wholesale sales to Russia at the moment, however it does not own any stores.

This deal will likely raise concerns about Russian and other countries that are not subject to Western sanctions buying up valuable assets. As Western companies rush for sanctions to be lifted over Ukraine’s conflict, there is also the threat from the Kremlin to seize foreign assets.

Anheuser-Busch InBev stated last month it would exit Russia via a deal with Turkish brewery Anadolu Efes. The joint venture, which is based in Russia and Ukraine, will see the company take $1.1 billion in charges.

Ziylan answered a question about Russia and the fact that many brands from around the world have fled the country after Russia invaded Ukraine. He said that the company will be following the Turkish government’s position on the matter.

“Our country does have no embargo. “We will continue so long as our country doesn’t tell us stop,” he stated.

NATO member Turkey is a Black Sea neighbor of Russia and Ukraine and maintains good relations with warring countries and opposes Western sanctions against Moscow.

Ziylan would not disclose details of possible deals.