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Johannesburg - British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] is to
acquire privately-owned Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, SAS (Protabaco),
the second-largest cigarette company in Colombia, for $452m.
The acquisition would make BAT the second-largest cigarette
firm in Colombia, Latin America's fourth-largest cigarette market with industry
sales of around 17 billion cigarettes in 2010, it said.
Mark Cobben, BAT's director, Americas, said: "This
investment will strengthen and complement our position in an important market
and fill a strategic gap in our Americas region."
Protabaco sold 5.5 billion cigarettes in 2010 - accounting
for almost one-third of the domestic market. Its biggest brand, Mustang, is the
country's second best selling cigarette with a retail share of around 18%.
Funding for the transaction would be from existing BAT
resources, the group said.
The transaction is subject to competition authority approval and final confirmatory due diligence.
