Earlier this morning, Charlie Toraño, president of Toraño Family Cigars, informed the company’s employees that the Toraño family has reached an agreement to sell its brand to General Cigar Co. While the family has been in the business for the better part of a century, Toraño Family Cigars was established in 2010 in the wake of another move by General Cigar Co., the transition of CAO into the General Cigar Co portfolio. Previously, the Ozgener family and its CAO brand, and the Toraño family partnered on both manufacturing and distribution. CAO was sold in 2007 and in 2010, the brand was absorbed into the larger ST Group portfolio after a restructuring at General. Toraño needed its own distribution, so the family hired many of CAO’s former employees and re-launched the company at the 2010 IPCPR convention and trade show. Following this year’s trade show, a rumor began regarding General Cigar Co./ST Group and its strong interest in acquiring brands, although Toraño was not listed as one of the likely targets. As it turns out, not only was that part of a much larger story about the future of General Cigar Co./ST Group, but it was also true. “The acquisition of the ...
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