British American Tobacco expands in South Africa with Vape deal

British American Tobacco Plc, the world’s second-largest traded cigarette maker, agreed to buy South African vaping company Twisp, expanding in a continent where it has grown in since buying Rothmans in 1999.

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The deal increases BAT’s offering of so-called next-generation products or alternatives to smoking cigarettes, the London-based company said in a statement Thursday. It didn’t disclose the price of the deal or how it’s being funded.
The deal comes after Japan Tobacco Inc. also agreed to spend $434 million to raise its investment in Ethiopia’s tobacco monopoly to a majority stake. BAT appointed Kingsley Wheaton, formerly the head of next-generation products, to lead the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa region last month.
BAT shares rose 2.2 per cent to 5,027 pence as of 3:21 p.m. in London, extending gains for 2017 to 8.7 per cent.