http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/ity.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aytWdCw6zDiY http://tobacco.org/news/267898.html Philip Morris CR AS has started to reflect a January increase in the Czech excise tax by raising prices of cigarettes, Mlada Fronta Dnes reported. Imperial Tobacco CR, Philip Morris's competitor, expects to raise its retail prices by the end of September Bloomberg News mfiserova@bloomberg.net (Marketa Fiserova) Czech Repulic Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=atZvKXhfQms4&refer=uk http://tobacco.org/news/267728.html Altria Group Inc. and Philip Morris International Inc. may bid for Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-largest cigarette maker, with a view to breaking up the company, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said. Altria's Philip Morris USA unit and PMI are a ``potential suitor'' for Bristol, England-based Imperial, David Hayes, an analyst at Lehman in London, wrote today in a research report. He resumed coverage of Imperial with an ``overweight'' rating. A takeover would be a ``final round of consolidation'' in the tobacco industry, according to Hayes. Imperial, which bought Gauloises cigarettes maker Altadis SA this year, might be split between the two companies, he said. Imperial Chief Financial Officer Bob Dyrbus said in a presentation to investors today that further industry consolidation ``seems unlikely.'' ``A solution that could create value for PMI is working with Philip Morris USA to carve up the newly enlarged Imperial- Altadis,'' Hayes wrote in the report. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=20912016 http://tobacco.org/news/267395.html Imperial Tobacco is closing its last factory in Bristol, bringing an end to a remarkable slice of the city's business history. TIM DAVEY reports. Bristol was built on tobacco. The wealth of its tobacco barons, the Wills family, permeated the very fabric of the city. The legacy of their generous endowments can still be clearly seen in landmark structures such as the University of Bristol's Wills Building, the Cabot Tower, the City Museum and Art Gallery, the Homeopathic Hospital and St Monica's home for the elderly. This is Bristol foo@bar.com UK Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=20907240 http://tobacco.org/news/267254.html Imperial Tobacco has announced that is to close its last factory in Bristol as part of a massive cost cutting programme. The closure of the company's cigar factory in Winterstoke Road, Ashton, will lead to the loss of 75 jobs and will bring to a close decades of tobacco manufacture in the city. Just over 30 years ago thousands of staff worked in factories in Bedminster and Hartcliffe but now all the jobs have been moved abroad. This is Bristol foo@bar.com UK Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=195917&command=displayContent&sourceNode=134241&contentPK=20906735 http://tobacco.org/news/267252.html Reports say as many as 2,400 jobs in France and Spain, or about 20% of Altadis' workforce in the two countries, could be axed to hit Imperial's cost-saving targets. Imperial raised billions through an issue of new shares. The money will be used to pay off debt incurred during the takeover of Altadis. Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth largest tobacco company, moved into Nottingham when it took over Players. The Lenton factory is its main UK cigarette manufacturing operation and the largest of its 32 plants worldwide. This is Nottingham foo@bar.com UK Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFFV5dO8BRXs http://tobacco.org/news/267216.html Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-largest publicly traded cigarette maker, plans to cut 2,440 European jobs after buying Altadis SA for 12.6 billion euros ($20 billion) earlier this year. Six of 58 factories will shut as staff numbers fall by about 6 percent, Imperial said today. The plants slated for closure are located in its hometown of Bristol, England, as well as Spain, France, Germany and Slovakia. The maker of Davidoff cigarettes fell 3.3 percent in London trading as the plan failed to persuade some analysts to lift their savings estimates. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061900751.html http://tobacco.org/news/267213.html Imperial Tobacco Group PLC said Thursday that it plans to slash its work force by around 6 percent as part of its restructuring plans after its recent takeover of Spanish rival Altadis SA. Imperial, Europe's second largest tobacco company, said it will close six of its 58 factories around the world and "reorganize operations at a number of other sites." Two of the plants being closed are in France and there is one each in Britain, Germany, Spain and Slovakia. The maker of brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises said the plans are an attempt to address overcapacity and improve efficiencies in a "challenging and highly regulated operating environment." The Washington Post Europe Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a_CQ1.gOp6iI http://tobacco.org/news/267189.html Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-largest publicly traded cigarette maker, plans to cut 2,440 European jobs after buying Altadis SA for 12.6 billion euros ($20 billion) earlier this year. Six of its 58 factories will shut as its payroll falls by about 6 percent, the Bristol, England-based company said today in a statement. The plants slated for closing are located in Spain, France, Germany, Slovakia and Imperial's hometown. Western European tobacco companies have eliminated jobs and shut factories in the face of government restrictions on smoking and bans on advertisements that have cut into cigarette sales. The takeover of Altadis, the Madrid-based maker of Gauloises cigarettes and Don Diego cigars, added about 27,000 employees to Imperial's work force. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) Europe Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8AW8jPq6J_ao30LJvBHZQkk1CIg http://tobacco.org/news/267187.html Britain's Imperial Tobacco said on Thursday that it would cut about 2,440 jobs, including 1,060 positions in France, as it restructures after the group's takeover of French-Spanish rival Altadis. Imperial Tobacco bought Altadis earlier this year in a deal worth 12.8 billion euros (18.8 billion dollars), creating a tobacco giant which incorporates well-known brands Embassy cigarettes and Montecristo cigars. "Imperial Tobacco Group has today announced a number of restructuring projects in Europe which it proposes to implement progressively over the next three years as part of the integration of Imperial Tobacco and Altadis," the group said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. Agence France Presse Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ca886970-3d6b-11dd-bbb5-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fca886970-3d6b-11dd-bbb5-0000779fd2ac.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=&nclick_check=1 http://tobacco.org/news/267182.html Imperial Tobacco will on Thursday unveil the long-awaited details of its planned restructuring of Altadis, the Franco-Spanish maker of Gitanes and Gauloise cigarettes it acquired last year for €12.6bn (£10bn). As many as 2,400 jobs in France and Spain, or about 20 per cent of Altadis’ workforce in the two countries, could be axed as part of Imperial’s drive to hit its cost-saving targets, analysts said. . . . Like its competitors, Imperial has seen cigarette sales in the UK and Europe, its core markets, fall amid increasing health concerns, smoking bans, higher taxes and advertising restrictions. Yet the company has managed to expand spectacularly over the past decade thanks to relentless acquisitions and cost-cutting. Financial Times Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/13/cnimperial113.xml http://tobacco.org/news/266871.html Imperial's 1-for-2 cash call, launched to finance its acquisition of Spanish rival Altadis, was fully underwritten by Hoare Govett, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Lehman Brothers. The banks were left with stock worth just £137m which they will sell on in the open market. Electronic Telegraph Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hu90VfSJFFfBKlyCz6VyzPQSO5VQ http://tobacco.org/news/266864.html Imperial Tobacco said on Thursday that it had sold 97 percent of new shares it recently offered investors to help fund its multi-billion dollar takeover of Franco-Spanish rival Altadis. Agence France Presse Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afGDjpZl5Gpo http://tobacco.org/news/266767.html Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-largest cigarette maker, said it has sold all the shares in its 4.9 billion-pound ($9.6 billion) rights offer. Shareholders subscribed for 329 million of the new shares they were entitled to, and investors were found for 9.5 million shares remaining after the deadline for acceptances passed, the Bristol, England-based company said today in a statement. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080602/tbs-tobacco-britain-0b94ddd.html http://tobacco.org/news/266338.html British cigarette makers face a new and serious risk to their profits if the UK government rules that cigarettes should only be sold in plain packaging, undermining the power of brands, analysts said on Monday. . . . "We believe the proposal would be extremely serious for the tobacco industry if implemented," said industry analyst Adam Spielman at investment bank Citi, who believes there is a 50 percent chance the proposal will be enforced by 2010. . . . The industry's profitability is based around its leading brands and it would be harmful to manufacturers if smokers traded down to cheaper cigarettes, as analysts say different brands may taste different but the difference in quality is barely perceptible. Citi's Spielman says for Imperial Tobacco its net sales from its premium-priced brand such as Embassy is 96 pence a pack while it only gets 70p from mid-priced Lambert and Butler and much less for discounted brands. Reuters UK Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aEbW4zboJkrA http://tobacco.org/news/266332.html Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-largest cigarette maker, fell in London trading after the U.K. government said it may bar tobacco companies from using brands and logos on cigarette packaging and limit shop displays of their products to curb smoking by children. Imperial slid 55 pence, or 2.7 percent, to 1,970 pence, the stock's lowest price since March 17. The cigarette maker is trying to sell new shares worth 4.9 billion pounds ($9.6 billion) to current investors. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) UK Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT