Swedish Match and Skandinavisk Holding, joint owners of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) said they plan an initial public offering to sell up to 40 per cent of the cigar and pipe-tobacco giant.

STG makes and sells three billion cigars and 5,000 tonnes of pipe tobacco annually, in addition to rolling tobaccos and accessories. The company with more than 8,000 employees was created in 2010 when snus maker Swedish Match contributed its cigar and pipe tobacco businesses, excepting machine-made cigars in the US, in return for a 49 per cent stake.
The remaining 51 per cent is held by two Danish foundations via Skandinavisk Holding. According to Swedish Match, the two owners will sell equal portions of their stakes.
"The contemplated IPO marks the culmination of the journey embarked upon in 2010 when we created a global leader with scale and a highly recognised and diversified brand portfolio within cigars, pipe tobacco and fine-cut tobacco,” said Joergen Tandrup, STG board chairman.
Swedish Match Chief Executive Officer Lars Dahlgren, who will leave the STG Board of Directors, said, “It is now a good time to transition into a new ownership structure for Scandinavian Tobacco Group and for Swedish Match to further focus on its core business."