Tobacco giant strides into vape market with $13B Juul stake
Altria, one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies, is spending nearly $13 billion to buy a huge stake in the vape company Juul as cigarette use continues to decline.
The Marlboro maker said Thursday that it will take a 35 per cent share of Juul, putting the value of the company at $38 billion, larger than Ford Motor Co., Delta Air Lines or the retail giant Target.
“We are taking significant action to prepare for a future where adult smokers overwhelmingly choose non-combustible products over cigarettes,” Altria Chairman and CEO Howard Willard said in a prepared statement.
E-cigarettes and other vaping devices have been sold in the U.S. since 2007 and have grown into a $6.6 billion business, and it is already intersecting with another seismic shift in the U.S. — the legalization of marijuana across the U.S.