Swedish Match at its highest, the group discusses a takeover by Philip Morris | Photo credits: Francois van Bast / Shutterstock.com
May 10 (Reuters) – Swedish Match shares are up more than 20% and hit a record high in early trading on Tuesday after it said it was discussing a possible takeover by American firm Philip Morris.
The title of the Swedish tobacco products group gained 24.48% to 94.68 crowns around 07:50 GMT, by far the best performance of the European Stoxx 600 index, which rose 0.74%.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the opening of discussions with Philip Morris, the acquisition of Swedish Match could be concluded on the basis of a valuation of approximately 15 billion dollars (14.2 billion euros). ).
Such an amount would represent a premium of about 25% on Monday’s closing price, notes Jefferies, who judges that the takeover would make sense from a strategic point of view even if the immediate financial interest is not spectacular.
Acquiring Swedish Match, a specialist in “snus”, this tobacco powder consumed by placing it between the gum and the lip, “would allow Philip Morris to have a leading ‘smoke-free’ business both in Europe and in the United States”, explains the intermediary.
(Agata Rybska report, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Kate Entringer)