Tobacco News

British American Tobacco’s Nigerian subsidiary has a near-monopoly, commanding 80 per cent of the market—but this position has not been achieved without hard work and a positive strategy towards health and economic development.

Though British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) was incorporated as an indigenous entity only 10 years ago in 2002, we are now coming up to the centenary of the parent company BAT’s presence in Nigeria. So 2012 will be the occasion for a double celebration among the 14,000 or more Nigerians employed, Ream more »

British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) shares are up 18.8 per cent since July as investors bet that the tobacco manufacture will earn more from its exports because of a weak shilling and increased volumes. BATU began processing leaf for export to other parts of Africa in April, which might translate to higher turnover for the Uganda Securities Exchange listed firm.

This is after BAT International decided to move its central leaf materials headquarters from South Africa to Uganda. Ream more »

The long-running legal battle between the world’s two largest tobacco companies entered a new phase on Monday when Santiago’s Court of Appeals ruled that British American Tobacco Chile pay US$2.2 million in compensation to Philip Morris (PM) for lost market share due to anti-competitive practices.
The decision – which revoked an earlier ruling by the Civil Court of Santiago rejecting the compensation request by PM – is the latest in a series of cases dating back to 2002.
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British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN)Thursday said it has bought Colombia’s second-largest cigarette company by sales and market share, Productora Tabacalera de Colombia SAS, or Protabaco, for $452 million, filling a strategic gap in its operations in Latin America.

The acquisition will enlarge BAT’s presence in the country, which is Latin America’s fourth largest cigarette market which had total industry sales of around 17 billion cigarettes last year.
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British American Tobacco (BAT) PLC announced their plans to create a new company called Nicoventures Ltd. which will produce products made without tobacco and with only pure nicotine in an effort to offer a safer alternative to smokers. Even though a spokeswoman of the organization said the products the company is considering aren’t on the market yet and declined to give any more details, Ream more »

British American Tobacco PLC will create a start-up company called Nicoventures Ltd. in order to make nicotine-based products that are a safer alternative for smokers. According to Nicoventures, the products they plan to release aren’t available on the market right now, and the products will be regulatory-approved and innovative.
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Tobacco giant British American Tobacco PLC is creating a start-up company to develop nicotine-based products aimed at smokers seeking a safer alternative to cigarettes.

The unit, called Nicoventures Ltd., intends to bring to market “innovative, regulatory-approved” products, according to a website for the start-up. The site says the products Nicoventures is looking at aren’t currently available on the market. Ream more »

British American Tobacco Plc, Europe’s largest cigarette maker, was dropped from the U.S. government’s racketeering lawsuit after a judge in Washington ruled the U.S. no longer has the authority to hold the U.K. company liable for hiding the health hazards of smoking.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler today said a 2010 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a securities case restricts the U.S. from seeking liability from “what is essentially foreign activity.”
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British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN), an international tobacco group that houses the Pall Mall, Kent cigarette and Dunhill brands, said Monday it is proposing to reduce the number of regions in its management structure from five to four with effect from Jan. 1, 2011.

MAIN FACTS:

-A new region will be formed, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, or EEMEA.
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BRITISH American Tobacco has lost an appeal in the full Federal Court in a dispute over an $89 million capital gains tax bill. Three appeal judges unanimously upheld Justice Arthur Emmett’s 2009 ruling that the tobacco company had engaged in a scheme whose ”dominant purpose” was to avoid tax rather than to pursue a genuine commercial strategy. Ream more »