Altria has announced that it has made use of the option to be released from its Juul non-competition obligations, reports AFP.

Altria, which is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, had invested USD 13 billion in Juul in 2018 but the stake has been written down several times since due to Juul facing a huge public backlash and government crackdowns. Altria has now ended its non-compete agreement with Juul and is now allowed to pursue the acquisition of another vaping company, or to develop its own products, reports AFP. The agreement had stated that Altria be released from the non-compete clause if its investment in Juul fell below 10 per cent of its initial value – as of 30 June, the investment was valued at USD 450 million.
Atria’s move to be released from the agreement comes as Juul takes on the US Food and Drug Administration which had ordered all Juul products to be taken off the market in the US. The order has since been suspended after an appeal by Juul with the final outcome pending.
Of, the end of the non-compete clause with Altria, a spokesperson for Juul said that it “gives us more flexibility as it increases the financial and strategic options, we can pursue to secure our business and address the impact of the FDA’s now stayed order. As we continue to operate in the market and go through the FDA’s review process, we remain confident in our science and evidence and believe that we will be able to demonstrate that our products do in fact meet the statutory standard of being ‘appropriate for the protection of the public health.”