Two years after Altria’s management announced, publicly for the first time, that it was considering the separation of the company into two, potentially three independent businesses, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer Louis C. Camilleri on 16 November confirmed during a consumer and retail conference that Altria’s board of directors would finalise its decision, including the precise timing, on the spin-off of Kraft on 31 January 2007.

The litigation environment, Camilleri said, had indeed continued to evolve favourably, and he firmly believed that it would continue to do so in the years ahead.
Industry experts expect Altria to spin off Kraft Foods, of which it owns 88 per cent, completely. Following this move, they assume that the only slowly growing US tobacco business might be separated from Philip Morris’ international activities, which increase at a faster speed. (ci)