Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (RBH), Philip Morris International’s Canadian subsidiary, has obtained an initial order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting it protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), according to a company statement.

PMI said that “obtaining creditor protection became necessary following recent developments in two Class Action proceedings in Québec against RBH, Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, and JTI-Macdonald Corp”.
The Canadian subsidiaries of PMI, BAT and JTI were sentenced earlier this month to pay damages of about CAD 17 billion (EUR 11.24 billion) after losing their appeal to class actions by Quebec smokers.