BAT joins forces with Rothmans..

January 12, 1999 - BAT joins forces with Rothmans.. British American Tobacco plc (BAT) and Rothmans International BV - the world’s second and fourth largest international cigarette makers respectively - announced plans to merge, in a deal currently valued at £5.28 billion (£8.67 billion). If approved by regulatory authorities, the merger would create a powerful new company, with a combined annual volume of over 900 billion cigarettes. The merger means the new company can claim over 16% of the estimated global market of around 5.5 trillion cigarettes, compared with Philip Morris’s 17% share. The merger provides access to markets in Africa and Asia, and opens the door to the UK market, where its share immediately went from almost nothing to 14%.