Phillip Morris Enters South Africa
July 2, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
Phillip Morris International, which is primarily known for its Marlboro brand, has reached an agreement to purchase Swedish Match South Africa for about $222 million. The announcement was made on Thursday by Phillip Morris.
Swedish Match South Africa is Swedish Match’s affiliate in South Africa. Snuff products and pipe tobacco are the two main areas of production for Swedish Match South Africa.
Said Jean-Claude Kunz of Phillip Morris: “This financially attractive acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for our business in South Africa. We firmly believe that merging the two businesses will provide us with the talent, infrastructure and expertise to further build and grow our portfolio of strong brands in this important market.”
In addition to Marlboro, which is the biggest brand of cigarettes in the world, Phillip Morris has about half of the top 15 brands. The company employs about 75,000 workers around the globe.
Cigarette (Image: Flickr)
