Altria (Philip Morris) to acquire Swedish Match?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • ClemsonUSA
    New Member
    • Nov 2007
    • 2

    Altria (Philip Morris) to acquire Swedish Match?

    First off, this is my first post. I'm a long-time user of Cope who recently switched to snus after being introduced to it by professional colleagues in Norway. This is a great forum about a great set of products, and I look forward to contributing to it!

    Anyway, as an Altria (Philip Morris) investor, I'm starting to hear some rumblings on the newswires about a "possible" Swedish Match acquisition (again, just rumblings). Altria is aggressively pursuing international expansion, and Swedish Match seems to be just the right size. Of course, I approach this with a measure of trepidation because I fear that the product would eventually be "Americanized" and therefore ruined. On the other hand, it might facilitate purchase of Swedish Match snus in the states. After all, Swedish Match already owns a few popular brands that are sold almost exclusively in the U.S. (e.g., Red Man chewing tobacco and the new Red Man snuff).

    Has anyone heard of this rumor? I did a few searches, and I don't think that it's been mentioned here...
  • Zero
    Member
    • May 2006
    • 1522

    #2
    Good god, I hope not. I'll stop buying Swedish Match altogether if that's the case. Philip Morris are corrupt and evil bastards.

    Comment

    • Soft Morning, City!
      Member
      • Sep 2007
      • 772

      #3
      I'm with you, Zero. They'll lose me as a customer if Phillip Morris takes control.

      Comment

      • TheInsulator
        Member
        • Oct 2007
        • 65

        #4
        You know, that wouldn't surprise me at all. Swedish Match offers a far superior product. Consumers outside of sweden's borders are really starting to catch on to Snus so of course a u.s. tobacco giant has to get involved. They'll raise the prices and cut costs on production. They'll **** it all up.

        On a related note: The Miller beer company is offering to buy the Grolsch brewing company, the finest dutch beer. The only reason why they want it is because Anheuser-Busch soley distrubutes Grolsch in the U.S. I hate all the petty little games these big corporations play without thought of how it's going to effect the consumer.

        I work at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in saint louis most of the time btw. I hear all sorts of gossip heh

        Comment

        • jqlynch
          Member
          • Sep 2007
          • 132

          #5
          Is there any possibility that SM could insist on full compliance with GothiaTek standards as part of acquisition negotiations? I think GothiaTek is a separate entity, composed of representatives from other manufacturers than just SM (for example, F&L and Gallaher); if that's the case, Philip Morris can't just agree flippantly and alter the GothiaTek standards afterwards.

          Given SM's market dominance and success (enjoying a current year high in share price!) and international status, it's not as though PM would have the high ground, so to speak.

          EDIT: Shit. Looks like GothiaTek is a Swedish Match initiative. never mind...

          Comment

          • Dave***t
            Member
            • Aug 2006
            • 104

            #6
            Originally posted by Zero
            Good god, I hope not.
            My thoughts exactly.

            Any chance of government intervention to prevent?

            Comment

            • Soft Morning, City!
              Member
              • Sep 2007
              • 772

              #7
              Well, suppose that PM does, indeed, acquire Swedish Match. And suppose they, in all of their infinite wisdom (hint the sarcasm) decide to start cranking out a product that doesn't live up to the GothiaTek standards. Do you think that the Swedish people would take it lying down? Personally, I'd like to think that if one of their greatest national products was tampered with by inept outsiders, some boycotting and petitioning would occur, at the very least.

              Any thoughts on the matter?

              Comment

              • mwood72

                #8
                God I hope not...That would be the end of traditional Swedish Snus

                Comment

                • lxskllr
                  Member
                  • Sep 2007
                  • 13435

                  #9
                  I wouldn't get too excited about it whatever ends up happening. Companies change owners all of the time. If it weren't for the heading on the check, or the small print on the container most wouldn't even know the difference. Best case scenario is snus gets more widely sold in the USA, worst case is Altria makes some new brands for the USA market and ****s it up. We'll still be able to buy the Swedish stuff online(barring government intervention), and everything will be as it's always been for the Swedes.

                  Comment

                  • Craig de Tering
                    Member
                    • Nov 2006
                    • 525

                    #10
                    At first reading of this news I was also shocked but after catching my breath again I think it'll be Phillip Morris who ends up the loser.

                    Because if they choose to change the recipe or cut corners on production methods and disregard the traditions for the bottom line, the informed consumer will just bail for the True Swedish SnusĀ©.
                    Enough other brands anyway.

                    Hell, we'll all still be ordering the good stuff off the internet (destined for the discerning swedes**) while they push the identically-labelled crap snus to the States. Just have to check the warning label on the bottom for Swedish text :-D

                    ** Remeber Scandinavians have 300 years of reference and can immediately tell you if the product has been doctored. Besides, in Sweden, snus falls under the same strict laws as food.

                    Comment

                    • chainsnuser
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 1388

                      #11
                      Oh well, my thoughts about this rumour are like "Sodom and Gomorrah!"

                      The cigarette-companies really will **** everything up. Many of them are bigger than all Swedish snus-producers altogether and easily could buy them all up - and not only change but stop the production, like it happened with Rocker. Just think about how they presumably corrupted the powerful E.U.-government to ban snus in favor of cigarettes.

                      Besides of that, yeah, we can only wait to see what happens and maybe boycott SM-brands, in the worst case.

                      Cheers!

                      Comment

                      • Stargazer
                        Member
                        • Aug 2007
                        • 225

                        #12
                        if Phillip Morris takes over swedish match they will lose me as
                        a customer as well. wth all due respect to all the americans
                        on the forum, but I will not buy any american crap to put under my lip.

                        NO WAY!

                        Comment

                        • Craig de Tering
                          Member
                          • Nov 2006
                          • 525

                          #13
                          Chainsnuser, that's NOT gonna happen. The Swedes will DEMAND snus. They can't live without it. And since it's a legal product there there'll always be internet shops selling the stuff to us.

                          Besides, like I said in the other thread, I wouldn't mind at all to make my own yummy snus at home if I have to. The gov't can kiss their ****ing tax revenues goodbye too!

                          As for Rocker snus, I think the owners got a big bag of money for their company and laughed all the way to the bank. Because it was a very young company, perhaps their intentions were more like "make some money" rather than "make some good snus".
                          Or maybe they just had to sign a contract first to declare they wouldn't invest the money in or start another snus company?

                          Comment

                          • slatter
                            Member
                            • Sep 2007
                            • 84

                            #14
                            i died a little bit on the inside when i saw this.

                            Comment

                            • Kindrd
                              Member
                              • Oct 2007
                              • 266

                              #15
                              If they did aquire them nothing would change. The factories are up and running and profitable. Swedish Match is all about making money too so I am sure costs have already been cut. Just like Swedish Match bought the Red Man brands and didn't make them healthier or change their production. Really if Altria wanted to change the manufacturing they would just build new plants(they can afford it). The buy out would be for the products as they are and the markets SM is in. They won't mess with the current products for fear of losing market share. Where do you think the swedes are buying their tobacco anyway. I would bet a bunch comes from right here in America from our Tobacco companies. Your money is already going to American Tobacco in one form or other.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X