Imperial Tobacco share price rises after $7.1bn purchase of Reynolds cigarette brands wins regulatory approval
Imperial Tobacco's takeover of a number of cigarette and ecigarette brands from Reynolds American is set to go ahead after winning regulatory approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The British tobacco company entered into a purchase agreement for the brands as far back as July last year following Reynolds' $27bn (£17.5bn) takeover of Lorillard.
Imperial entered that deal with $4.7bn to maintain its stake in the Reynolds group and a further $7.1bn to purchase the brands including Winston, Maverick and ecigarette firm blu. The group's share price rose over two per cent in morning trading.
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Imperial's revenue has been hurt by the ongoing conflict in Iraq – one of its key growth markets – announcing a £500m fall in a recent trading update.
The transaction is expected to be completed by "spring 2015" according to an Imperial statement to the stock exchange, however it still remains subject to an order from a United States District Court relating to a Department of Justice case relating to cigarette firms.