Swedish Match Cigar Venture Makes Takeover Easier, Analyst Says

(Bloomberg) Swedish Match AB’s joint venture to create the world’s second-largest cigar maker makes the Scandinavian snuff maker an easier takeover target, according to Rolf Karp, an analyst at Ohman Equities.
Swedish Match transferred most of its cigar business to a joint venture with Skandinavisk Holding A/S in return for a 49 percent stake in the unit and 30 million euros ($41 million) in cash, the Stockholm-based snuff maker said on its website today.
“They will be able to focus on the smokeless business now,” Karp said. “It does make it a bit easier to take over, because you could just sell off the remaining stake in cigars.” Continued