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Tobacco giant pays NZ merger forfeit 

A legal stoush between tobacco giant British American Tobacco and the Commerce Commission has ended with an out-of-court settlement and a $350,000 payment from the cigarette maker.

At the heart of the dispute was whether the local effects of a global merger fell foul of the Commerce Act, which prohibits the acquisition of a company if it gives a dominant market position.

The case began in 1999, when British American merged with Rothmans in New Zealand, after a merger of their parent companies.

As part of its settlement announced yesterday by the commission, BAT has agreed to sell some of its brands - Sportsman, Cameo, Pacific, Topaz, North Pole, Matinee and Three Castles - which the commission says have a combined net value of $10 million.

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