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Article: Altria aims to be No. 1 in smokeless with UST deal
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- September 8, 2008
- Author:
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Altria, the U.S. leader in cigarettes, wants to be No. 1 in smokeless products too.
The owner of the nation's biggest cigarette seller said Monday that it will buy UST, the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen, in a $10.4 billion deal that is part of the wider consolidation of the global tobacco industry.
Observers say Lorillard, which was spun off from Loews Corp. in June, could be next on the list of potential targets.
"It's going to put pressure on everybody else to consolidate," said Sachin Shah, an analyst with iCap Equities. Shah said tobacco leaf producer Universal Corp. and Vector Group Ltd. could also be potential targets.
Altria owns the Marlboro brand and ...