US giant gets Papastratos
Cigarette maker Papastratos, one of Greece’s biggest companies, will be sold to Philip Morris International, the company’s main shareholders decided yesterday. The shareholders, comprising 75 percent of Papastratos’s share capital, agreed to sell their shares for 18.15 euros per share – or a total of 371 million euros – to Philip Morris International’s Dutch subsidiary. The price may drop by up to 1 percent, depending on the results of the audit of company finances (due diligence) by Philip Morris. Provided the deal is approved, the buyer will make a public offer for the rest of the shares, now traded on the Athens Stock Exchange. Papastratos has been manufacturing Philip Morris’s Marlboro and Marlboro Lights brands in Greece since 1975. The deal was sealed by Philip Morris International’s President Andreas Kalantzopoulos and Papastratos’s Christos Komninos.
