Altria has announced plans to acquire e-cigarette and vaping giant NJOY for $2.75 billion in cash just days after selling its stake in Juul Labs, another vaping company that is currently mired in legal challenges.
“We believe we can responsibly accelerate U.S. adult smoker and competitive adult vaper adoption of NJOY ACE in ways that NJOY could not as a standalone company,” said CEO Billy Gifford in a press release. “We believe the strengths of our commercial resources can benefit adult tobacco consumers and expand competition."
While Juul offers a similar set of so-called smoke-free products, it faces a number of legal challenges that Gifford noted could persist for the foreseeable future.
“Juul faces significant regulatory and legal challenges and uncertainties, many of which could exist for many years,” he said.
Some legal challenges remain, however. The deal stipulates that $500 million in cash payments are contingent upon some NJOY products getting regulatory approval.
The owner of Marlboro cigarettes continues to pitch its interest in vaping and e-cigarettes as a way to get smokers to transition to vaping alternatives.
“We are excited to add NJOY’s e-vapor intellectual property as a new platform that we believe we can build on to help more adult smokers transition to smoke-free alternatives,” said Olivier Houpert, chief innovation and product officer for Altria.
Oracle soars as it cashes in on the AI boom, Plus: Starbucks shares continue to fall under its new CEO, and does anybody actually want a new iPhone Air?
Aurimas Sabulis, CEO of Dextall, unveils how AI‑driven prefabricated façades slash design time by 80%, labor by 87%, and accelerate affordable housing delivery.
Trump wants interest rates to plummet to make borrowing cheaper and boost growth. Fed chair Jerome Powell and his allies say not so fast, they need to bala
Crunch Fitness President Chequan Lewis talks how gyms are adapting to GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs, integrating AI-powered workouts and embracing new fitness trends.