GREENSBORO, N.C. --Imperial Tobacco Group PLC has announced that "ITG Brands LLC" will be the new name of the company to be formed from its existing U.S. business (Commonwealth-Altadis) and its acquisition of brands and assets from Reynolds and Lorillard, said Bill Crump, senior vice president of human resources for Lorillard Inc., in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
The filing was a memo to keep Lorillard employees informed about the ongoing progress of the company's merger agreement with Reynolds American Inc. and the associated process of integration planning between Lorillard and Imperial Tobacco/Commonwealth-Altadis.
"As always, we will keep you informed as to future updates on the transactions as the process progresses. Until that time, it is business as usual, and we continue to compete with Reynolds and Commonwealth-Altadis," the memo said.
Last month, Imperial Tobacco announced that it has selected Greensboro, N.C., as the location of the new company it is forming from its existing business in the United States and the acquisition of brands and assets resulting from the Reynolds and Lorillard transaction.
Reynolds American, Winston-Salem, N.C., is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the second-largest U.S. tobacco company with brands including Camel, Pall Mall, Winston, Kool, Doral, Salem, Misty and Capri; American Snuff Co. LLC, the nation's second-largest manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products, with brands including Grizzly and Kodiak; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Inc., which manufactures and markets Natural American Spirit 100% additive-free natural tobacco products; Niconovum USA Inc.; Niconovum AB, which market nicotine replacement therapy products in the United States and Sweden, respectively, under the Zonnic brand; and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., which makes and markets Vuse e-cigarettes.
Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard, through its Lorillard Tobacco Co. subsidiary, is the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States. Newport, Lorillard's flagship premium cigarette brand, is the top-selling menthol and second-largest-selling cigarette in the United States. Its other brands include Kent, True, Maverick and Old Gold. These five brands include 43 different product offerings which vary in price, taste, flavor, length and packaging. Lorillard, through its other subsidiaries, is also a leading e-cigarette company with the blu eCigs and SkyCig brands.
Commonwealth-Altadis Inc. is a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Imperial Tobacco company providing sales and distribution services to Commonwealth Brands Inc. and Altadis USA Inc. The combined Commonwealth Brands and Altadis USA portfolio includes cigarette and cigar brands including Montclair, USA Gold, Sonoma, Dutch Masters, Backwoods and Phillies.
Bristol, England-based Imperial Tobacco is a multi-national tobacco company with brands including Davidoff cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos; West and Gauloises Blondes cigarettes; Montecristo cigars; Golden Virginia hand rolling tobacco; Drum fine-cut tobacco; Rizla rolling papers; and the Puritane e-cigarette brand. It operates in more than 160 markets.
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