Scandinavian Tobacco (ST) announced yesterday that its Dutch based company, ST Cigar Group Holding B.V., will acquire Belgian cigar company Tabacofina-VanderElst from British American Tobacco.

BAT said the sale includes a factory in Leuven as well as trademarks Corps Diplomatique, Schimmelpenninck, Don Pablo and Mercator. It added the business had gross assets of EUR of 31 million as of December 2006, and that the transaction is expected to be completed later this year.
BAT’s cigar company, Tabacofina-VanderElst, manufactured 420 million cigars in 2006, of which some 200 million cigars for the Belgian market, where the company is market leader with a share of more than 40 per cent. The rest of the total volume is either sold to various export markets or consists of contract manufacturing for third parties. The main export markets are France, the Netherlands, and Italy.
ST Cigar Group in Eersel, The Netherlands, also known as Henri Wintermans, is one of the largest cigar companies in the world, having 11 subsidiaries in 9 different countries. Brand names include Café Crème, Henri Wintermans, Reas, Colts, Nobel Petit, Che and Blues. A few months ago ST Cigar Group acquired CAO International Inc. in Nashville , a major player in the premium handmade cigar market, a growing segment in the USA.