Philip Morris Ratchets Up Altria Challenge With $16 Billion Deal
- US alternative market opens up to company as it exits Russia
- Entry helps goal to get most revenue from smoke-free by 2025
Swedish Match is a leading maker of the smokeless tobacco product snus.
Source: Swedish Match AB
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Fourteen years after splitting off its US business, Philip Morris International Inc. is pushing back into that key market in a big way -- this time, with cigarette alternatives.
The maker of Marlboros on Wednesday agreed to buy Swedish Match AB, a maker of nicotine pouches, for $16 billion. The move intensifies Big Tobacco’s race for leadership in smokeless products and thrusts Philip Morris into competition with Altria Group Inc., its former U.S. operation.