http://www.ft.com/fastft/395061/british-american-tobacco-boosts-bet-on-e-cigs
British American Tobacco is set to buy a Polish e-cigarette company and team up with fellow tobacco company RJ Reynolds as it seeks a greater foothold in the vapours game.
In an announcement on Tuesday BAT said it had signed a conditional agreement to buy the whole of Poland’s CHIC Group, which it says has 800 points of sale in Poland, an “e-liquids” production facility and a clutch of Polish e-ciggie brands.
BAT’s managing director of so-called ‘next generation products’ Kingsley Wheaton said the deal:
is strategically significant and makes commercial sense. It provides BAT with scale and market reach through Europe’s largest eCigarette retailing network, as well as important manufacturing and R&D capabilities. It further demonstrates our commitment to the NGP category.
Approval from Polish anti-competition authorities is needed next.
The tie-up with RJ Reynolds of the US, meanwhile, “provides a framework for collaboration and mutual cross-licensing of the parties’ vapour product technologies up to 31 December 2022.”
The two companies are expecting to conclude and sign a final agreement on this by the end of this year.
Mr Wheaton added:
Today, we’ve announced two significant milestones to enhance our next generation product business globally, further enabling us to meet the demands of today’s consumer