BATs buys Colombian firm

26th May 2011 07:27

British American Tobacco is buying Colombia's second biggest cigarette company for $452m (£279m).The acquisition of Productora Tabacalera de Colombia (Protabaco) will elevate the Lucky Strike firm from third to second place in the cigarette market in Colombia, where 17bn cigarettes are sold a year. Protabaco sold 5.5bn cigarettes in 2010."The investment will strengthen and complement our position in an important market and fill a strategic gap in our Americas region," said Mark Cobben, British American's Americas director.Emerging markets are a strong growth driver for the company. The acquisition of Indonesia's Bentoel in 2009 helped drive last year's results. ---RG