Swedish Match has entered into
an agreement with R.J. Reynolds International regarding the
acquisition of the production operations of the cigar plant in
Pietersaari in Finland per December 1, 1997.
According to the terms of the
agreement, all cigar brands will be transferred to Swedish Match.
However, R.J. Reynolds OY will on behalf of Swedish Match
continue to handle the sales, marketing and distribution of the
cigars as previously.
The cigar business of R.J. Reynold
in Finland will be integrated in the cigar division of Swedish
Match. The personnel will be employed by Swedish Match with
pre-existing terms and conditions.
Through the agreement Swedish
Match will get access to the Finish market with strong, well
known and leading brands such as Hofnar, Van Kemp and some other
strong local brands. Before the acquisition Swedish Match had no
cigar position in Finland.
The integration of the RJR Finland
Cigar activities will create further synergistic effects at the
purchase of tobacco and packaging as well as production.
Swedish Match is a company
specialised in tobacco products, matches and lighters with a
turnover of approximately 7.500 MSEK. Swedish Match is a listed
company both at the Stockholm Stock Exchange and at the Nasdaq
Stock Exchange, in New York.
The Swedish Match cigar division
is one of the world’s leading cigar manufactures, well known
for its quality cigar products that are sold in more than 90
countries.
The cigar division, with 6
factories in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Indonesia, has a long
tradition of producing famous brands such as La Paz, Willhem II,
Clubmaster, Justus van Maurik and Montague with strong market
positions in many parts of the world.
For further information, please
contact:
Bo Aulin, Senior Vice President,
Corporate Affairs Office: +46 8 658 03 64
Mobile: +46 70 558 03 64
Residence: +46 8 768 45 22
Göran Ekdahl, Vice President,
Corporate Communication Office: +46 8 658 01 62
Mobile: +46 70 858 11 62
Residence: +46 8 768 38 22
Boel Sundvall, Vice President,
Investor Relations Office: +46 8 658 01 73
Mobile: +46 70 651 39 09
Residence: +46 8 25 87 12
Background information
The Finnish cigar market has
increased since 1994 to a level of 65 million sticks in 1996. The
trend is stable or slightly increasing, supported by a cigar boom
in US and similiar trends in Europe and other markets.
R.J. Reynold’s own cigar
brand activities show a 67% market share of the total Finnish
cigar market which has a total value of 110-120 MSEK 1996. Total
exports are 7 million cigars with presence in Scandinavian and
Baltic Duty Free, Sweden and some other countries.
The size of the total Swedish
Match cigar business is over 1 billion cigars per year with a
total sale of 678 MSEK (1996). The cigar division recently
introduced a premium high quality, totally hand made longfiller
cigar in the US and some European markets, consolidating its
position as quality cigar manufacturer. The division’s
strongest markets are West Europe and North Europe and other
international markets like Australia, Thailand etc. Next to that
North America is becoming an important market.