Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) is now the majority shareholder of the National Tobacco Enterprise Share Company (NTE) in Ethiopia, JT stated in a company press release 21 December.
JT just announced that they made a share agreement to purchase 30 per cent of NTE for USD 434 million from the Ethiopian government, after buying 40 per cent of NTE last year. Together, the company owns 70 per cent of NTE’s shares.
Eddy Pirard, president and CEO of Japan Tobacco International (JTI), was quoted as saying “This significant increase in our ownership of NTE shares reaffirms our strong belief in the company and Ethiopia as an increasingly important place to do business in Africa.”
The company stated that the transaction should be finished by the end of 21 December.
Referring to the share purchase, Pirard stated: “By combining our international and newly acquired local expertise, we are confident that we can take NTE to a new level of growth.”