BackSTG ACQUIRES NORWEGIAN BRANDS
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S (STG) (previously Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni A/S) has acquired several Norwegian tobacco brands in the roll-your-own (RYO) and cigarette segments from British American Tobacco (BAT) – among them first and foremost the Tiedemanns brand.
With the acquisition, Scandinavian Tobacco Group will gain an approximate 30% share of the large Norwegian market for rolling tobacco.
The products are first and foremost Tiedemanns Rød, Tiedemanns Gul and Tiedemanns Lys, but the Teddy, Mento and Mentolett brands are also included in the deal.
The acquisition is a consequence of the EU Commission's approval of the sale to BAT of STG's cigarette and certain RYO activities in summer 2008. As a condition of approval, the Commission required that BAT dispose of the predominant part of the roll-your-own activities in Norway, in order to prevent BAT gaining too strong a position on the Norwegian market. The deal is thus effectively a repurchase of part of the activities STG sold to BAT in summer 2008.
Likewise as a consequence of the Commission's requirements, BAT sold the Petterøe’s brand in November 2008 to Philip Morris International, and with the sale of Tiedemanns to STG, BAT has now complied with the Commission's requirements regarding the sell-off in Norway.
Tiedemanns' rolling tobacco is already being produced under contract at STG's factory in Holstebro, where production will also be carried out henceforth. BAT Norway will handle distribution on the Norwegian market of the Tiedemanns products and the other acquired brands.
STG's acquisition of the Tiedemanns brands was conditional on the approval of Scandinavian Tobacco Group as the buyer by the EU Commission and the Norwegian competition authorities. Those approvals were given, and the acquisition is now a reality.
ABOUT SCANDINAVIAN TOBACCO GROUP
- a world leading manufacturer of cigars and traditional pipe tobacco
- approx. 8,200 employees in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US
The Group’s brand portfolio contains more than 200 international, regional and local tobacco brands, including the cigar brands Café Crème, La Paz, Henri Wintermans, Macanudo, CAO, Partagas (US) and Cohiba (US). Pipe tobacco brands include Captain Black, Erinmore, Borkum Riff and W.Ø. Larsen, while leading fine-cut tobacco brands include Bugler, Break, Escort, Bali Shag and Tiedemanns.
The Group is ultimately owned by two Danish foundations (51%) – the Augustinus Foundation and Det Obelske Familiefond – and by Swedish Match (49%). Both Danish foundations have been active in the tobacco industry for more than 250 years. Swedish Match is a publicly owned company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Read more: www.st-group.com.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S
Sydmarken 42
DK-2860 Søborg
Denmark
CVR 31 08 01 85
