[Intl-tobacco] Imperial lights up for Tobaccor (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

Imperial lights up for Tobaccor
by Rosie Murray-West
Source: Electronic Telegraph, Tuesday, 4/3/01

IMPERIAL Tobacco, which produces John Player and Lambert & Butler
cigarettes, yesterday made a move into Vietnam and sub-Saharan Africa,
buying a 75pc stake in Tobaccor, a Paris-based tobacco company, for £179m
in cash.

Gareth David, chief executive of Imperial, said the deal was an excellent
springboard for organic growth. "We've been exporting cigarettes to Africa
and South East Asia for some time, and Tobaccor is the second-biggest
manufacturer and distributor in the region. These are key regions for us."

Tobaccor concentrates on mid and lower-price brands. Just over half its
sales volume is in its own-brand lines, while the remainder is made up of
brands sold under licence from other international cigarette
manufacturers. The group's biggest seller is an African brand called
Excellence, which makes up about 26pc of its own-brand sales.

Mr David added that the company would now focus on organic growth in these
areas. "However, if other opportunities should come along, we certainly
wouldn't turn them away," he said.

Imperial shares rose 24 to 702p as analysts welcomed the deal. The company
bought Tobaccor from French group Bollore.