Imperial Divests OTP Brands

Source from:  tr.itsmyiq.com Apr 24, 2008 04/25/2008

Philip Morris International said yesterday that it had agreed to acquire a number of fine-cut and pipe-tobacco brands currently owned by the Imperial Tobacco Group. The divestment of a number of brands in certain EU markets was a condition of the European Commission's approval of Imperial's acquisition of Altadis in January. Imperial said the divestment, for a consideration of €254 million, was subject to Commission approval. It included, it added, the fine cut tobacco brands Interval, Bergerac, Santoya and Wervicq (France), Van Nelle (Italy and Canary Islands) and Picadura (Spain), and the pipe tobacco brands Bergerac (France) and Kilta (Finland). Meanwhile, PMI said that the agreement transferred to PMI, Imperial's rights to the Interval fine-cut tobacco trademark worldwide and either transferred or licensed other OTP trademarks currently sold in several countries across the EU. 'In 2007, the acquired brands accounted for an approximate 2 per cent share of the total fine-cut category in PMI's EU Region, and Interval, a strong French heritage brand with a high quality blend, was the leading fine-cut brand in the French market with a 14.8 per cent share of the category,' PMI added. Enditem