Gilla, a US-based designer, marketer and distributor of e-cigarettes, acquired an Irish distributor as a platform for further European expansion, the company announced.

Drinan Marketing, based in Dublin, was founded in 2010 by owner Andrew Hennessy, who will receive 500,000 thousand Gilla shares and an option for another one million shares at an exercise price of USD 0.25 (EUR 0.18), Gilla said in a statement. The most recent OTC close for Gilla shares was USD 0.13. Closing date for the transaction is 31 Jan.