UNITED KINGDOM
Imperial Tobacco to issue new shares

Imperial Tobacco today launched a GBP 4.9 billion (EUR 6.2 billion) rights issue to keep its credit rating intact after its acquisition of Altadis.

Imperial Tobacco said that it intends to issue 338.7 million new shares at GBP 1.47 a share. The new shares represent 33 percent of the enlarged issued share capital.
The tobacco giant, which owns the Lambert & Butler, Davidoff and JPS cigarette brands, had already hinted that it would raise the cash in order to keep up its investment-grade credit rating following its EUR 12.6 billion purchase of Altadis, the Spanish cigarette maker, which was completed in January.
Imperial Tobacco also plans to buy out the remaining 40 per cent of Logista, a Spanish logistics company in which Altadis owned a 59.6-per-cent stake. It could cost Imperial around EUR 910 million.
Imperial's deal, one of the largest in UK corporate history, was accompanied by interim results. The group announced adjusted earnings-per-share of GBP 0.72 compared with GBP 0.61 last time, and first-half sales of GBP 8 billion, a rise of 38 per cent on last year, missing analyst forecasts of a 40-per-cent rise.
In the UK, where Imperial is market leader, net revenue was down to GBP 429 million reflecting the initial impact of public smoking bans on volumes as well as the related effects on its vending operations, which the company says will ease.
In Germany, net revenue was GBP 261 million, benefiting from euro exchange rates, growing market shares and manufacturer's price increases, which have offset total market declines.
In the rest of the world, net revenue was up to GBP 620 million, which the company said reflects its growing cigarette volumes across the region and a number of good brand performances. (pi)

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