http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/ltr.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/business/11mentholside.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin http://tobacco.org/news/266756.html Lorillard, the third-largest American cigarette company, had a net income of $898 million last year. Of that amount, $363 million was carried as part of Loews $2.5 billion net income, with the rest credited to the Carolina Group, which until Tuesday had been a tracking stock for the tobacco business. Over the years, Loews has also relied on its cigarette business for a substantial amount of its cash flow, a reliance no longer necessary because of the company’s increasing success in other areas. The shares that began trading on Tuesday ended their first day up about 6 percent, closing at $76.63. The Loews chief, James S. Tisch, has said that politics had nothing to do with the company’s decision to spin off Lorillard. And yet the 163-page prospectus for the new Lorillard shares warned investors that company’s heavy reliance on the Newport group could potentially have a negative impact on Lorillard, noting that federal health officials had raised concerns about menthol’s effects. Analysts have said that by removing tobacco from its portfolio, Loews will find borrowing money cheaper. New York Times Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121297547239156145.html?mod=hps_us_my_companies http://tobacco.org/news/266694.html Lorillard, which is being spun off from Loews Corp., will make its debut at a time when the U.S. tobacco industry is selling fewer cigarettes because of bans on smoking in public places and higher cigarette taxes. But Lorillard does have one ace up its sleeve: it dominates the market for menthol cigarettes, which have been gaining market share and declining more slowly than other types of cigarettes. "It's going to be a tough market for all the domestic cigarette companies," says Morningstar analyst Gregg Warren. "Lorillard is on the positive end of the industry dynamics because of the menthol offerings." The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.forbes.com/markets/equities/2008/06/10/loews-lorillard-tobacco-markets-equity-cx_mp_0610markets21.html http://tobacco.org/news/266667.html Break-ups are never easy as Loews and Lorillard discovered when the divvying up of shares got a little messy. On Tuesday, Loews said its share exchange offer with former subsidiary, Lorillard, has been oversubscribed. Loews, a conglomeration that operates offshore drilling rigs, hotels and an insurance company, among other ventures, said it would accept 93.5 million shares of Loews stock in exchange for 65.4 million Lorillard shares, reflecting an exchange ratio of 0.70. Forbes Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2008/06/09/daily18.html http://tobacco.org/news/266665.html Greensboro tobacco company Lorillard Inc. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol "LO" today as its own independent company. Lorillard had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Loews Corp, based in New York, since 1969. Loews issued a tracking stock, Carolina Group, in 2002 tied to the performance of Lorillard in preparation of spinning the company out on its own. Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080610005652&newsLang=en http://tobacco.org/news/266664.html Loews Corporation (NYSE:LTR) today announced the preliminary results of the offer to its stockholders to exchange shares of Loews common stock for shares of Lorillard, Inc. common stock (NYSE: LO) held by Loews. The exchange offer expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on June 9, 2008. According to the exchange agent, Mellon Investor Services LLC, a total of 173,449,763 shares of Loews common stock were tendered for exchange and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the exchange offer, including 76,032,420 shares tendered by guaranteed delivery procedures. Loews will accept 93,492,857 shares of Loews common stock in exchange for 65,445,000 shares of Lorillard common stock, reflecting an exchange ratio of 0.70. Business Wire Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/10/business/menthol.php http://tobacco.org/news/266663.html Forty years ago, the New York business magnates Laurence Tisch and Preston Robert Tisch capitalized on growing public health concerns over smoking by buying a cigarette company at a bargain price. It proved a good investment - even if the Tisch name has sometimes been stigmatized, as when an airplane once trailed a banner over Long Island, New York, beaches reading "Larry Tisch sells cancer sticks." The tobacco company's flagship Newport brand flourished, becoming the leading menthol cigarette and No.2 over all, after Marlboro, in large part because Newports are enormously popular among black smokers. Now, the next generation of Tisches has removed tobacco from the portfolio of the conglomerate they lead, the Loews Corp., spinning it off as a stand-alone business, with the Newport brand representing more than 90 percent of the new company's revenue. The new stock began trading Tuesday following overwhelming enthusiasm for the offer to trade Loews shares for the new stock. Analysts have said the new standalone company might be a takeover target. International Herald Tribune letters@iht.com (Stephanie Saul) Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/06/10/afx5099131.html http://tobacco.org/news/266661.html Loews Corp. Tuesday said it will accept 93.5 million shares of its common stock in exchange for 65.4 million shares of Lorillard Inc. common stock, reflecting an exchange ration of 0.70. AFX News Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6nSL3HO8DtE http://tobacco.org/news/266447.html Lorillard Inc., the cigarette producer being spun off by Loews Corp., may attract takeover bids from Reynolds American Inc. and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc as shrinking U.S. cigarette demand forces manufacturers to combine, according to reports from two analysts. Lorillard will be spun off June 10 and trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors should buy the stock to take advantage of a potential merger, a possible share buyback and its addition to the Standard & Poor's 500 index, Erik Bloomquist, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd., said today in a research note. ``It's very clear the industry will see more consolidation,'' Bloomberg News cburritt@bloomberg.net (Chris Burritt) Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aux6EIPaZD.k http://tobacco.org/news/264232.html Loews Corp., the holding company run by New York's Tisch family, and its CNA Financial Corp. insurance unit reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts' estimates as policy sales shrank. Net income at Loews declined for the third straight quarter, falling 14 percent to $662 million, or $1.05 a share, from $768 million, or $1.20, the New York-based company said today in a statement. Revenue fell at CNA, sending the stock of both companies tumbling the most in three months. . .. Profit at Lorillard, Loews's tobacco unit, fell 20 percent to $67 million on a decline in revenue. Loews is preparing to spin off the cigarette business, which includes the Newport brand, and said it had $13 million in administrative expenses in the period tied to the transaction. Bloomberg News afrye@bloomberg.net (Andrew Frye) Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2847312320080428 http://tobacco.org/news/264227.html Carolina Group, a tracking stock for Loews Corp's Lorillard Inc cigarette business, posted a lower quarterly profit on Monday, hurt by lower investment income and costs related to the proposed spin-off of Lorillard. First-quarter net income fell to $171 million, or 98 cents per share, from $189 million, or $1.08 per share, a year ago. Net sales rose to $921 million from $913 million a year ago, due mostly to price increases. Selling, advertising and administrative expenses rose to $100 million from $82 million a year ago, due to costs related to the proposed spin-off of Lorillard from Loews and higher legal expenses. Reuters Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.rttnews.com/sp/todaystop.asp?date=04/28/2008&item=26&vid=0 http://tobacco.org/news/264226.html Loews Corp. (LTR), a commercial property and casualty insurance provider, reported a decline in its first-quarter profit, reflecting lower results from CNA Financial and Lorillard, and net investment losses compared to prior year's gains. The company also said that Carolina Group's (CG) first-quarter net income declined on higher expenses related to the proposed spin-off of Lorillard, and lower investment income. The company's first-quarter consolidated net income, including both the Loews Group and Carolina Group, was $662 million, lower than $768 million in the previous year. RTTNews.com Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/04/28/afx4940291.html http://tobacco.org/news/264225.html Loews Corp. Monday reported first-quarter income from continuing operations of $474 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with $645 million, or $1.19 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue for the three-month period ended March 31 slipped to $4.54 billion from $4.61 billion a year ago. Carolina Group, a subsidiary and tracking stock of Loews Corp., posted first-quarter net income of $171 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with net income of $189 million, or $1.08 a share, in the first quarter of 2007. AFX News Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021100756.html http://tobacco.org/news/259573.html Loews Corp (LTR.N) said on Monday fourth-quarter profit fell 31 percent, hurt by subprime investment losses and weaker-than-expected results in its insurance, tobacco and drilling businesses. Net income at New York-based Loews, a conglomerate run by the billionaire Tisch family, fell to $512 million from $746 million a year earlier. . . . Lorillard earnings fell 6 percent to $206 million, hurt by litigation costs. Profit attributable to Carolina shareholders was $128 million, or $1.18 per share. Excluding items, profit was $1.30 per share, 7 cents below the average analyst forecast, Reuters Estimates said. Net sales at Lorillard rose 2 percent to $957 million as higher prices offset a 4.3 percent drop in domestic shipments. Reuters Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://online.barrons.com/article/SB119889382345757045.html?mod=googlenews_barrons http://tobacco.org/news/257372.html SHARES OF LOEWS HAVE RISEN SMARTLY in recent years, but the New York conglomerate continues to trade at a discount to its net asset value. Its recent decision to spin off its Lorillard tobacco unit could help narrow the gap -- and boost the stock price. The transaction may let it shrink its total of outstanding shares by 20% and eliminate much of the remaining tobacco-liability risk that may be hurting its stock. . . . Lorillard may benefit from the elimination of the tracking stock; many institutional investors don't like trackers because they offer no direct ownership in a company. An independent Lorillard also is apt to increase its dividend, now $1.82 a share. Lorillard also might become a takeover candidate in a consolidating global tobacco industry, owing to the strength of its principal brand, Newport. Tisch has said that management's "singular goal is to create value for the holders of Loews common stock." The company has a history of delivering, and the Lorillard spin off is the latest move to that end. Barron's editors@barrons.com (ANDREW BARY) Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aGVijdwAMjK0 http://tobacco.org/news/257350.html Loews Corp., the holding company run by New York's Tisch family, rose 2.1 percent in New York trading after Barron's said the firm may gain 20 percent when it spins off cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. Separating from Lorillard will eliminate New York-based Loews's tobacco-liability risk, Barron's said in its edition dated today. Loews said Dec. 17 it will divest Lorillard, the oldest U.S. cigarette maker, as it capitalizes on rising prices for tobacco stocks. Loews, which gets more than half its revenue from Chicago-based property and casualty insurer CNA Financial Corp., also owns oil and natural gas driller Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. Bloomberg News eholm2@bloomberg.net (Erik Holm) Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT