Imperial lights up with Davidoff
Cigarette group Imperial Tobacco has bought the upmarket Davidoff trademark for €540m (£368m).
The group already sells Davidoff cigarettes under licence but has now agreed to buy the trademark from its German owners Tchibo.
Gareth Davis, chief executive of Imperial Tobacco, said: "Davidoff is our key international strategic premium cigarette brand and an important growth driver for the business. We have achieved considerable success with Davidoff cigarettes, increasing global volumes in the last four years."
He added: "As well as significantly enhancing our brand equity this acquisition provides greater flexibility to develop the brand, enabling us to increase investment and accelerate its international growth."
He said Imperial's relationship with Oettinger Davidoff Group, which owns the trademark for tobacco products other than cigarettes, would continue. Mr Davis said: "This will ensure that both parties continue to share their knowledge and expertise in managing the integrity of this valuable brand."
Davidoff cigarettes are sold in more than 70 countries worldwide. Imperial said that it expects to sell around 14bn of the cigarettes in this financial year to September, compared to 13bn last year. In the first half, Davidoff volumes were around 6bn cigarettes, up 7pc on 2005.
The deal is subject to clearance from the German Federal Cartel Office.
Imperial shares fell 18 to £17.95 in early trading.
