STOCKHOLM, March 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 14, 2021, Swedish Match announced its
intention to separate its cigar business via a spin-off to
shareholders and a subsequent listing on a US national securities
exchange. The separation was initially expected to be completed in
the second half of 2022, at the earliest.
While the Board of Swedish Match still has the strategic intent
to separate the cigar business, and views this as a move that would
further enhance the prospects for Swedish Match's US smokefree
business, as well as for its US cigar business, the Board has today
decided to suspend the preparations for the contemplated spin-off
until further notice.
While supply chain related challenges have contributed to the
financial development of the US cigar business falling short of
Swedish Match's expectations in recent quarters, today's decision
to suspend the spin-off preparations was prompted by regulatory
uncertainties facing the cigar business. Swedish Match has recently
been informed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that
substantial equivalence (SE) designations have been denied for SE
applications corresponding to about 3 percent of Swedish Match's
2021 cigar volume. It cannot be ruled out that additional SE
applications for the cigar assortment will be denied in the first
instance as FDA continues to work through remaining applications.
Swedish Match plans to appeal the non-SE designations by the FDA by
requesting a supervisory review and Swedish Match remains confident
that the Company will be given the opportunity to provide the FDA
with sufficient data in order to demonstrate that the cigars in
question are substantially equivalent to their predicate products
insofar that the changes that have taken place do not raise
questions of public health.
Swedish Match is confident that the above-mentioned issues will
be resolved or efficiently mitigated in due course. However, the
Board's view is that the decision to suspend spin-off preparations
until further notice is in the best interests of our shareholders.
As the potential impacts from regulatory uncertainties have been
clarified, the Swedish Match Board expects to resume plans to
separate the cigar business.
Contacts:
Lars Dahlgren, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Phone +46 8 658 0441
Anders Larsson, Chief Financial
Officer and Senior Vice President Group Finance
Phone +46 10 139 3006
Emmett Harrison, Senior Vice
President Investor Relations
Phone +46 70 938 0173
This information is information that Swedish Match AB (publ) is
obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
The information was submitted for publication, through the agency
of the contact person set out above, at 6.00
p.m. CET on 14 March,
2022.
This information was brought to you by Cision
http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/swedish-match/r/swedish-match-provides-update-on-plans-for-separation-of-its-cigar-business,c3524644
The following files are available for download:
https://mb.cision.com/Main/2004/3524644/1548165.pdf
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Swedish Match
provides update on plans for separation of its cigar
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SOURCE Swedish Match