Japan Tobacco to buy US e-cigarette maker Logic Technology Development

Japan Tobacco (JT) yesterday struck a deal to buy US e-cigarette maker Logic Technology Development, in a bid to become a dominant player in the fast-growing e-cigarette market.

JT, which owns well-known brands like Winston, Camel and Benson & Hedges, did not reveal the financial terms of the deal, but entered the e-cigarette market last year after acquiring UK-based E-Lites electronic cigarette maker Zandera Ltd.

Founded in 2010 by Eli Alelov and Howard Panes, Logic sells a full range of rechargeable, ready-to-use and disposable e-cigarettes, including the Logic Pro tank system1, launched in April 2015.

It is the third-largest e-cigarette company in the US with a market share of around 20 per cent.

''With the Logic brand and its strong portfolio of products, the JT Group has a sizable participation in the largest and fast-growing US e-cigarette market,'' said, Masamichi Terabatake, JTI's (Japan Tobacco International) executive vice president and deputy CEO. ''Logic's well established presence in the US, in addition to our acquisition of E-Lites in the UK, further underpins our global ambitions to become the leader in emerging products.''

The transaction will be funded by the Tokyo-based company's existing cash and loan facilities and the executive management team of Logic will remain with the JT Group post-acquisition.

''With the backing of JT Group's global resources, we believe Logic is uniquely positioned to accelerate its growth in the US market and further enhance its product offering.'' said Alelov, Logic's co-founder and CEO.

JT, which holds a 66.4-per cent of the cigarette market share in Japan, had expanded its international tobacco business through the acquisition of R.J. Reynolds international operations in 1999 for $7.8 billion and Britain's Gallaher Group in 2007 for $15 billion.