KT&G will jointly acquire nicotine pouch manufacturing and sales corporations in Sweden and Norway with Altria, the No. 1 U.S. cigarette company, to expand the global market for smokeless cigarette alternatives.
KT&G said on the 23rd that it signed a co-investment agreement with Altria to secure 100% equity in ASF AB (nicotine pouch production and sales) and ASF AS (nicotine pouch sales), both owned by the nicotine pouch corporations ASF AB, and will establish a special purpose company (SPC) in Sweden.
Under the structure in which the SPC acquires the two companies' equity, KT&G will not hold equity directly.
The acquisition targets are 1,000 issued shares of ASF AB (100% equity) and 100 issued shares of ASF AS (100% equity). The purchase price is about 1,760,57 million Swedish kronor (SEK), which, applying KEB Hana Bank's posted exchange rate as of the board resolution date (1 SEK = 149.05 won), amounts to about 262.4 billion won.
Regarding the purpose of the acquisition, KT&G said it was "to quickly enter the high-growth nicotine pouch market, expand the next-generation product (NGP) portfolio, and strengthen new growth drivers."