British American Tobacco To Buy European Cigarette Maker TDR For EUR 550 Mln

(RTTNews) - Cigarette maker British American Tobacco Plc. (BATS.L, BTI) Monday said it has signed an agreement to acquire TDR d.o.o. and other tobacco and retail assets from Adris Grupa d.d. for a total enterprise value of 550 million euros. The proposed acquisition is subject to a number of anti-trust approvals and Adris shareholder consent. The transaction is expected to complete in October 2015.

TDR is a cigarette manufacturer in Central Europe with good business in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. BAT expects the deal to provide the opportunity to significantly grow its business in the region. As part of the transaction, BAT has committed to keeping TDR's manufacturing facility in Kanfanar, Croatia operational for at least five years following completion of the acquisition. Nicandro Durante, BAT's Chief Executive, said, "This is an exciting acquisition for BAT, which will provide immediate scale in three core markets of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia and establishes a sustainable platform to grow our business in Central Europe."

In London, British American Tobacco shares were trading at 3,646.50 pence, up 1.14 percent.