British American Tobacco PLC has announced that it has agreed to purchase TDR d.o.o. and other tobacco and retail assets from Adris Grupa d.d. for €550 million. TDR is one of the most popular independent cigarette manufacturers in Central Europe. The company has a leading position in Croatia and in Bosnia and Serbia. This amazing lead will provide BAT the opportunity to develop its business in the region. TDR is a cigarette manufacturer headquartered in Central Europe with great market in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. BAT expects the transaction to provide the opportunity to significantly grow its business in the region.

With the combination of BAT and TDR, British American Tobacco plc expects to benefit from the great benefits. The company is sure to benefit from TDR’s highly skilled people, a well-established brand, improved regional leaf processing capabilities, an equipped high quality local factory and print facility and of course a great advantage over all other competitors because of a strong relationship with distributors and retailers.

According to the transaction BAT has committed to keeping TDR’s manufacturing facility in Kanfanar, Croatia. This huge facility will remain operational for at least five years following completion of the acquisition.

Chief Executive Nicandro Durante of British American Tobacco commented: “This is an exciting acquisition for BAT, which will provide immediate scale in three core markets of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia and establishes a sustainable platform to grow our business in Central Europe”.

The proposed acquisition is subject to a number of anti-trust approvals and Adris shareholder consent.  The transaction is expected to complete in October 2015. In London, British American Tobacco shares were trading at 3,646.50 pence, up 1.14 percent.

About British American Tobacco PLC

British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational tobacco company that has headquarters in London, United Kingdom. At present, it is one of the world’s largest tobacco companies. BAT has a leading position in the tobacco industry in over 50 countries. It has operations in around 180 countries. You may recognize BAT products with its four largest-selling brands. These are Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Kent and Pall Mall. Other cigarette brands that are also made by BAT are Kool, Benson & Hedges and Rothmans.

British American Tobacco has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. As at 6 July 2012 it had a market capitalisation of £65.6 billion. It is the sixth-largest of any company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The British American Tobacco company was formed in 1902, when the United Kingdom’s Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company of the United States agreed to form a joint venture forming the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other’s domestic territory and to assign trademarks, export businesses and overseas subsidiaries to the joint venture. The formed company had its first chairman by the name of James Buchanan Duke. The British American Tobacco business began business in various diverse countries such as Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Back then, it did not made business in the United Kingdom or in the United States.

British American Tobacco stock market evolution: http://www.google.com/finance?cid=3098087

About Nicandro Durante

Nicandro Durante is the Chief Executive of British American Tobacco PLC. He originally joined the Board of British American Tobacco as Chief Operating Officer in January 2008 after almost two years as Regional Director for Africa & Middle East. Nicandro was appointed Chief Executive Designate in September 2010.

Nicandro has a Brazilian / Italian ancestry. He holds degrees in finance, economics and business administration. He joined British American Tobacco’s Brazilian subsidiary Souza Cruz in 1981. This was after three years working in finance in two Brazilian companies where he built a successful finance career. In 1997 Nicandro was appointed Finance Director in Hong Kong before returning to Brazil in 2000 as Finance Director for Souza Cruz. In April 2002 he was appointed President of Souza Cruz. Nicandro was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc in December 2013.

About Adris Grupa

Adris Grupa is the largest tobacco company in Croatia and one of the largest in the Balkans. It is made up of two business units: Tobacco and Tourism. The Tobacco unit companies involves: TDR d.o.o, Istragrafika d.d, Hrvatski duhani d.d. The company markets cigarettes under the brand names of Ronhill, Walter Wolf, York and MC. The Tourism unit companies involves: Maistra d.d. The company is headquartered in the city of Rovinj, it was founded in 2003, and its stock is listed at the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Adris Grupa stock market evolution:  http://www.zse.hr/default.aspx?id=17560&dionica=ADRS-R-A