Imperial Tobacco said Tuesday it met Altadis last week and is still hopeful for a friendly deal according to reports by the Financial Times.

According to Imperial Tobacco’s executive officer, Gareth Davis, constructive talks with Altadis management have chief priority in order to reach an agreement with its board. The two parties met for the first time since Imperial Tobacco made an offer of € 47 per share (US$ 62.85) for Altadis in April, valuing the business at € 12.03 billion (US$ 16.09 billion). The offer, however, was rejected by Altadis as too low. A previous offer of € 45 per share had also been rejected.
A deal would see the emergence of a strong group with brands such as Imperial’s Lambert & Butler and West and Altadis’ Gauloises and Fortuna. Imperial Tobacco’s chief executive officer, Gareth Davis, said buying Altadis is “not crucial” to the company as it has shown strong organic growth.
In addition to Imperial, financial investors CVC and PAI are said to be interested in purchasing Altadis.