Private equity rolls into Republic Tobacco - sources

(Reuters) Private equity firms Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) and Pamplona Capital Management LP are among a handful of parties weighing bids for Republic Tobacco, a privately held company that makes the Drum brand of loose tobacco in the United States, according to people familiar with the matter. ... Republic, which is said to be seeking as much as $2 billion according to some of the people, has also attracted interest from Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMT.L), one of the people said. Continued