(Bloomberg) -- British American Tobacco Plc, the world's second-largest traded cigarette maker, agreed to buy South African vaping company Twisp, expanding in a continent where it has grown in since buying Rothmans in 1999.
The deal increases BAT's offering of so-called next-generation products, or alternatives to smoking cigarettes, the London-based company said in a statement Thursday. It didn't disclose the price of the deal or how it's being funded.
The deal comes after Japan Tobacco Inc. also agreed to spend $434 million to raise its investment in Ethiopia's tobacco monopoly to a majority stake. BAT appointed Kingsley Wheaton, formerly the head of next-generation products, to lead the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa region last month.
BAT shares rose 2.2 percent to 5,027 pence as of 3:21 p.m. in London, extending gains for 2017 to 8.7 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Loni Prinsloo in Johannesburg at lprinsloo3@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Thomas Mulier, John Bowker
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
