Altria Group Inc MO.N has taken a further huge hit as Juul’s valuation continues to fall and its 35 per cent stake in the company loses worth, reports Reuters.
Juul Labs Inc recently reported its value now lies at USD 10 billion, however major stake holder and Marlboro maker Altria has said that it values the company at only USD 4.6 billion, less than half of that. Altria had picked up a 35 per cent stake in Juul at the end of 2018 when the young company was valued at USD 38 billion.
According to Reuters, Altria’s stake is now only worth USD 1.6 billion and the company has had to take a total of USD 11.2 billion in write-downs as Juul faced pressure from regulators and public which saw its value plummet over the past two years.
The losses which were published in Altria’s third quarter results, took Juul’s international prospects and current U.S. e-vapour category dynamics into consideration.
“The e-vapour category will continue to undergo a transition period over the next few years as FDA makes market determinations on the thousands of PMTAs,” said Chief Executive Officer Billy Gifford.