......this is becoming a bad habit
Rothmans to be swallowed by Philip Morris
42 minutes ago
TORONTO — Rothmans Inc. (TSX:ROC) has announced a deal to be taken over by Philip Morris International Inc. in a transaction that values Canada's last publicly traded cigarette company at $2 billion.
Rothmans said Thursday the offer of $30 per share in cash has been endorsed by the Toronto-headquartered company's board of directors.
The bid follows the resolution of smuggling charges against Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., which is owned 60 per cent by Rothmans and 40 per cent by Philip Morris.
The offer from the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, spun off in March as a separate company from Altria Group, represents a premium of almost 15 per cent over Wednesday's closing price of $26.17 for Rothmans shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Rothmans investors have also consistently reaped a hearty dividend, yielding 5.4 per cent at Wednesday's price. The company said the second-quarter dividend, normally paid in September, will be suspended while the takeover proceeds.
The transaction is conditional on acceptance by two-thirds of Rothmans stockholders, along with Competition Act and Investment Canada approval.
The deal is expected to close by the end of October, making Rothmans a wholly owned subsidiary of Philip Morris.
The Rothmans board has undertaken to pay a termination fee of $40.9 million if an outside party prevails with a better offer.
Philip Morris will pay $81.7 million to Rothmans is the offer is not completed.
Canada's other major cigarette maker, Montreal-based Imperial Tobacco, is part of the British American Tobacco conglomerate based in London.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Another Canadian company goes up in smoke.
Posted by Fillibluster at 12:53 PM
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1 comment:
Flaherty talking to Philip Morris :
A dollar for you , no dollars for me.
Two dollars for you , no dollars for me.
My mother said that there would be days like this--why didn`t I become a Dentist like she wanted.
Dr Mike Popovich.
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