Philip Morris to buy South African unit of Swedish Match

NewYork-based Philip Morris International, the worldÔÇÖs largest publicly traded cigarette maker, has agreed to buy Swedish Match South Africa (SMSA) for R1.75 billion ($224 million), which will make it the biggest seller of pipe tobacco in the South African┬ámarket. ┬á  SMSA has a strong presence in the OTP (other tobacco products) market in South Africa and is market leader for its pipe tobacco, which includes the well-known Boxer and Best Blend brands. The unitÔÇÖs sales were reported to total R687 million last year.┬á Philip Morris, whose brands include Marlboro, will acquire operations equivalent to roughly 31 per cent of tobacco consumption in South Africa when the deal goes through later this year.┬á Swedish Match has said the sale is in line with its ÔÇ£strategy to focus on smokefree tobacco, cigars and lights products.ÔÇØ  SMSA will continue to distribute lighters, matches and cigars for Swedish Match. Last year, Philip Morris bought Canadian tobacco products firm Rothmans for around $2 billion. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *