Tobacco

Philip Morris and Rio’s poker faces need some work

7 Nov 2022

The $139 bln Marlboro maker and $95 bln miner have upped buyout offers to try and clinch strategically key deals. In both cases, hedge funds and minority investors called their bluff. The lesson is that bidders can’t play hardball if everybody knows they really need a deal.

Capital Calls: Philip Morris/Swedish Match

20 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Marlboro maker has raised its already pricey $16 bln offer for the Swedish seller of nicotine pouches.

Capital Calls: T-Mobile US transmits clear signal

9 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The telecom carrier is planning a $14 bln buyback program as it beats rivals in shareholder return.

Capital Calls: LVMH succession, Swedish Match

22 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: Bernard Arnault insures the luxury group against future family feuds; the oral tobacco company’s results will embolden deal resisters.

Capital Calls: Swedish Match, FCA

8 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: Elliott’s stake-building in Swedish Match may delay Philip Morris’s takeover of the oral tobacco company; the Hong Kong brain drain gathers pace with Ashley Alder’s move to Britain’s financial regulator.

Altria begins to look like tobacco’s bad bank

22 Jun 2022

The Marlboro-maker’s value fell by around $7 billion over a U.S. crackdown on nicotine and potential ban for e-cigarette partner Juul. Altria is starting to look like the riskiest parts of the tobacco industry, rolled up into a single bundle.

Reinvention tops returns in Philip Morris snus bet

11 May 2022

The tobacco giant has agreed a $16 bln takeover of nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match. The deal brings it closer to being mostly smoke-free by 2025. But only rapid growth or big cost cuts can justify the 39% premium. CEO Jacek Olczak has scant room for legal or regulatory snafus.

Philip Morris’ snus deal looks doubly defensive

9 May 2022

The U.S. cigarette maker could beat a faster path to becoming a mostly smoke-free company if it snags the $12 bln Swedish Match and its chewable tobacco packs. A tie-up would be pricy, but investors’ growing yen for recession-proof stocks gives the Marlboro Man an added edge.

Inflation gives Big Tobacco a handy drag

11 Feb 2022

High cigarette taxes shield their makers from the pain of soaring input costs. Customers who can’t say no also make hiking prices easier. But long-term survival relies on solid smoke-free plans. In that race, $102 bln BAT is playing catch-up to $164 bln rival Philip Morris.

The Exchange: Breakingviews at Reuters Next

9 Dec 2021

At the global conference, our columnists interviewed the movers and shakers at Ola Electric, Philip Morris, ViacomCBS and Klarna about disruption at scale in India, the challenges of making bold corporate transitions in tobacco and media, and Europe’s fintech frenzy.

Viewsroom: Breaking up Ant, smokes and flavors

16 Sep 2021

Beijing’s crackdown on Jack Ma’s fintech giant continues, but there may be some silver linings to the latest wrinkle, Robyn Mak tells Pete Sweeney. Meantime Dasha Afanasieva explains what a cigar spinoff at Swedish Match and carveouts at Royal DSM have in common.

Cigarless Swedish Match has pull for Marlboro Man

15 Sep 2021

The $15 bln oral tobacco maker is spinning off its stogies to quit the combustion business. With its ambitious smoke-free revenue targets, Philip Morris may be keen on what’s left. Judging by its pumped-up takeover of inhaler firm Vectura, it may take the hit, however pricey.

Capital Calls: Cook defeats Apple crumble risk

24 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The CEO replaced the ailing Steve Jobs exactly 10 years ago. Despite fears at the time, Cook’s must be one of the most lucrative successions of all time for shareholders.

Vectura tussle chips away at money’s winning might

13 Aug 2021

The inhaler maker endorsed a bid from Philip Morris that was 6% above one from Carlyle. Juicier shareholder returns and deeper pockets to invest prevailed over distaste for Big Tobacco. But the noisy debate makes scrutinising deals on broader stakeholder grounds look more normal.

Inhaler fight offers investors false moral choice

9 Aug 2021

Philip Morris International raised its 1 bln pound bid for UK pharma group Vectura, beating Carlyle’s sweetened offer. Shareholders that shun tobacco may prefer the buyout firm. But PMI has more strategic know-how and Carlyle could sell in a few years. Price should be decisive.

Bolder smoke-free goals can singe BAT discount

28 Jul 2021

The Camel maker’s first-half sales grew 8% and it’s on track to generate 5 bln pounds in revenue from products like vapes by 2025. Yet its stock trades at half rival Philip Morris International’s multiple. U.S. exposure is partly to blame, but a bigger target would help too.

Altria better off giving cash away than burning it

20 Jul 2021

The Marlboro maker agreed to sell a wine business for $1.2 bln and is sitting on $13 bln worth of shares in A-B Inbev, from a previous sale of Miller Brewing. Exiting that in October, when it can, makes sense especially given Altria’s habit of splurging at shareholders’ expense.

Cigar exit is next strike in Swedish Match revamp

20 Jul 2021

Most of the $14 bln group’s sales come from oral tobacco and nicotine pouches which are less harmful than cigarettes, giving it a rich valuation. But rivals like Philip Morris are catching up. Getting out of stogies could raise $2 bln and give its stock a brighter ethical flame.

Philip Morris takes a pricey toke in wellness push

9 Jul 2021

The tobacco giant is buying medical inhaler maker Vectura for 1 bln pounds to boost its expansion into pharmaceuticals. CEO Jacek Olczak is unlikely to make a decent return from the deal. But he has few other options to hit a goal of $1 bln in non-nicotine sales by 2025.

Big Tobacco tech offers path to partial redemption

18 Jun 2021

Philip Morris is tweaking its inhalers for medical drugs, rather than recreational ones. If non-nicotine sales hit their target, the unit could be worth $5 bln. That’s tiny against the Marlboro maker’s $156 bln price tag. As a genuine health benefit, the PR value may be greater.