Empresas y finanzas

Philip Morris International Announces Acquisition of Certain Trademarks From Imperial Tobacco Group



    Philip Morris International (PMI) (NYSE:PM) announced today that
    it has reached an agreement with Imperial Tobacco Group (Imperial) to
    acquire certain brands in the Other Tobacco Products (OTP) category.
    The agreement transfers to PMI, Imperial´s rights to the Interval
    fine-cut tobacco trademark worldwide and either transfers or licenses
    other select OTP trademarks currently sold in several countries across
    the European Union.

    As part of its acquisition of Altadis, Imperial was required by
    the European Commission to divest itself of certain OTP brands. In
    2007, the acquired brands accounted for an approximate 2% share of the
    total fine-cut category in PMI´s EU Region and Interval, a strong
    French heritage brand with a high quality blend, was the leading
    fine-cut brand in the French market with a 14.8% share of the
    category. The deal is valued at 254 million euros.

    "We look forward to further developing these quality brands and
    building on our already strong presence in the growing OTP segment in
    the region," said Paolo Degola, President, EU Region for PMI. "This
    expanded brand portfolio will allow PMI to enhance its position in
    this profitable segment in the EU and, in particular in France."

    The transaction is subject to approval by the European Commission
    and certain local regulatory agencies and is expected to be completed
    in the second quarter of 2008.

    Other brands included in the agreement are the fine-cut brands
    Bergerac, Santoya and Wervicq (France), Van Nelle (Italy and Canary
    Islands) and Picadura (Spain) and the pipe tobacco brands Bergerac
    (France) and Kilta (Finland).

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    About Philip Morris International

    Philip Morris International is the leading international tobacco
    company, with seven of the world´s top 15 brands including Marlboro

    the number one cigarette brand worldwide. PMI has more than 75,000
    employees and its products are sold in over 160 countries. In 2007

    the Company held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market
    outside of the United States. For more information, see
    www.philipmorrisinternational.com