Philip Morris International, the owner of Marlboro cigarettes, is in takeover talks with Swedish Match over a multibillion-dollar deal that would expand the tobacco group’s smoke-free business.
The New York-listed group said yesterday that discussions over a bid were in progress and “it is uncertain whether an offer will be made”.
Swedish Match has a market capitalisation of SKr120.92 billion (£9.7 billion) and Philip Morris is valued at about $154 billion. The talks were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said a deal could value Swedish Match at about £12.2 billion.
The Swedish tobacco group is a leader in snus, oral nicotine products, which are becoming popular outside Scandinavia. The US is one of Swedish Match’s largest markets for “smoke-free” products,