A Timeline of How Imperial Brands Came to Be

(Cigar Aficionado) Imperial Brands of Bristol, England, is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, and if you haven’t heard by now, its premium cigar division is now up for sale.
If you’re a cigar lover who is not aware of Imperial, you likely at least know of the iconic brands under the company’s control. The non-Cuban versions of Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and Henry Clay are wholly owned, from production to distribution, by Imperial.
Additionally, the company has a 50 percent stake in Habanos S.A., the Havana-based monopoly that controls the export of all of Cuba’s cigars. This means that sales of popular Cuban brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo, Hoyo de Monterrey, Romeo y Julieta and Partagás all contribute to Imperial’s bottom line. Continued