Phillip Morris International, one of the world's largest tobacco companies, wants to buy Swedish snus manufacturer Swedish Match. This is reported by several major news channels.
According to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Phillip Morris and Swedish Match are in intensive negotiations, and PMI may well make a bid for the Swedish snus manufacturer this week.
Going smoke-free
In recent years, Phillip Morris International (PMI) has invested heavily in smokeless nicotine products. As Vejpkollen previously reported PMI aims to capture 50 per cent of its sales from e-cigarettes, the IQOS heat-not-burn system and oral products such as snus and nicotine pouches by 2025. The goal is to become a "smoke-free company" and stop selling cigarettes (eg. Marlborogh) altogether.
"A purchase of Swedish Match would be a step towards that goal. It would give PMI a great opportunity to broaden the distribution of not only snus but also other smoke-free products," the online magazine notes. Bloomberg analysts.
Rumours of purchase in the past
It has previously rumoured that PMI was close to buying Swedish Match. Negotiations took place as recently as 2010, but the talks did not go all the way. This time, too, unconfirmed sources are behind the information. At the same time, Swedish Match has confirmed that negotiations are ongoing.
Snus is anti-smoking
The Swedish snus, one of the few nicotine products that has been given the status of "harm-reducing nicotine product" in the US, is considered by many to be a key reason why so much of the few Swedes smoke (6%), compared with other countries within the EU (23%). Snus is banned from sale in all EU countries except Sweden.
