Swedish Match has announced that it has sold 13 million shares in Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S (STG), continuing its recent divestiture and likely exit from the premium cigar business. STG, which owns General Cigar Co. and Cigars International, became a publicly-traded company earlier this year. Prior to that, it was a joint venture between Skandinavisk Holding A/S, two family foundations, and Swedish Match. Skandinavisk Holding controlled 51 percent, while Swedish Match owned 49 percent. After going public Skandinavisk Holding II controlled 33.2 percent of the company and Swedish Match retained 31.2 percent. Swedish Match’s current stake now sits at 18.1 percent of the company. In a press release, the company stated it sold the shares for 106 DKK, approximately $15.88 per share, or $206.44 million. It said it originally intended to only sell 10 million shares, but added an additional 3 million due to strong demand. Shares of STG closed at 110 DKK ($16.48) today. Swedish Match has announced that it has agreed to not sell any additional shares for 90 days. STG claims to be the largest cigar company in the world, producing over 3 billion machine and handmade cigars annually, along with 5,000 tons of pipe and cut tobacco. It is the ...
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