Press releaseJun 22, 1998
Swedish Match expands in Australia
Effective from June 30th
Swedish Match has acquired the Australian company WSGAL/Bryant
& May’s matches and lighter operations in Australia and
New Zealand.
The acquisition means that Swedish Match is
purchasing 100% of the matches, lighters and firelighters
operations from Bryant & May for AUD 10 M (SEK 49 M). The
acquisition includes stock, equipment, goodwill, the well-known
"Redheads" and "Beehive" brand names and the
trade name Bryant & May.
As a result of the acquisition, Swedish
Match gains access to new, important distribution channels in
Australia and New Zealand, mainly supermarket chains and
retailers. Bryant & May’s operations includes
manufacturing of firelighters meanwhile the rest of the products
are imported, matches from Swedish Match.
The acquired operations will be integrated
in Swedish Match’s existing subsidiaries in Australia and
New Zealand. Swedish Match’s total sales will then increase
by approximately AUD 10,5 M
(SEK 51 M).
The matches and lighter markets in
Australia represent a value of about AUD 40 M (SEK 195 M) and in
New Zealand about NZD 11,8 M (SEK 49 M).
Swedish Match is an international
company that manufactures and markets tobacco products, matches
and disposable lighters. The company’s products are produced
in 26 plants in 14 countries and are sold through some sixty
marketing organizations in about 140 countries.
Swedish Match has annual sales of SEK 7,500 M, with
slightly more than 7,000 employees. Swedish Match has been listed
on the Stockholm Stock Exchange since 1996 and on NASDAQ. The
Group’s head office is in Stockholm, Sweden.
For additional information, please
contact:
| Bo Aulin,
Senior Vice President, |
Office:+
46 8 658 03 64 |
| Corporate
Affairs |
Mobile:+
46 70 558 03 64 |
| |
Residence:+
46 8 768 45 22 |
| |
|
| Boel
Sundvall, Vice President, |
Office:+
46 8 658 01 73 |
| Investor
Relations |
Mobile:+
46 70 651 39 09 |
| |
Residence:+
46 8 25 87 12 |
| |
|
| |
|
| Göran
Ekdahl, Vice President, |
Office: |
| |
+ 46 8
685 01 62 |
| Corporate
Communications |
Mobile:+
46 70 858 11 62 |
| |
Residence:
+ 46 8 768 38 22 |