Source: Richard Craver, WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 12/23/18


The if-you-can’t-beat-them-acquire-them strategy of Altria Group Inc. has sent tremors through the tobacco industry once again. Altria, owner of top-selling traditional cigarette Marlboro, said Thursday it will spend $12.8 billion to gain a 35 percent ownership stake in Juul Labs Inc., which makes the controversial and top-selling electronic cigarette Juul. “We are taking significant action to prepare for a future where adult smokers overwhelmingly choose non-combustible products over cigarettes by investing $12.8 billion in Juul, a world leader in switching adult smokers,” Howard Willard, Altria’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

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