Deals
Cannabis Allure Proves Irresistible for Tobacco Company Altria
- Bet on marijuana is a bid to offset tobacco’s steady decline
- Altria has the option to take majority control going forward
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Altria Group Inc., the U.S. maker of Marlboros, made a $1.8 billion investment in a Canadian pot company Friday based on a simple premise: Cannabis is growing fast, and cigarettes are not.
Altria has agreed to take a 45 percent stake in Toronto-based marijuana producer Cronos Group Inc., marking a major tobacco company’s first foray into cannabis. It has the option to take majority control in the future. The tobacco giant simultaneously said it will kill two of its next-generation products, fueling talk that a potential deal with Juul Labs Inc. could come soon.