3 Takeaways From Philip Morris' $16 Billion Merger with Swedish Match

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is making a splash with a blockbuster deal earlier this month to acquire Swedish Match (OTC: SWMAF) for $16 billion in an all-cash arrangement. Swedish Match is a fellow nicotine-products company, most famous for its Zyn nicotine pouches, a smokeless nicotine product.

Philip Morris has a market cap of $160 billion, so this deal is pretty significant and could have some short- and long-term ramifications for shareholders. Here are three key takeaways from the pending merger.

Philip Morris and its sister company Altria Group (NYSE: MO) were a single business before Philip Morris was spun off in 2008. The two companies have always maintained a friendly relationship; Altria sold Philip Morris' IQOS heated-tobacco product in the United States until patent issues arose. The two had formal re-merger talks recently, although nothing ultimately came of them.

Continue reading


Source Fool.com