CONFIRMED: Swedish Match AB buying Gotlandssnus AB for 300MM SEK

The SnusCENTRAL Intelligence Agency has learned that Swedish snus giant Swedish Match AB (SMAB) has come to an agreement to purchase mid-sized snus manufacturer Gotlandssnus AB for 300MM SEK (approx 40MM USD).  This would follow last September’s purchase by SMAB of Danish snus maker V2 Tobacco A/S followed by House of Oliver Twist.

UPDATE:  On July 26 2018, three days after this story was published, Swedish Match AB issued a press release confirming that they had purchased a majority interest in Gotlandssnus AB.  The SnusCIA strikes again!

Gotlandssnus is majority owned by the founding Jakobsson’s family.  They have streamlined their brands under the Jakobsson’s Snus banner in recent years and specialize in high quality natural fruit, mint, and natural flavored snuses.  Like V2 Tobacco, a number of Jakobsson’s Snus products were grandfathered for sale in the United States.

This will add Jakobsson’s to Swedish Match’s current product portfolio of snus available for over-the-counter sales within the US.  This includes the five General Snus products already in mass distribution in US convenience and tobacco stores as well as three new Thunder Xtreme snuses being added in September 2018.

Also by September, the US General Snus products are getting a packaging makeover to increase visibility on the shelf. The complete Swedish Match snus line including the five General OTC products and Thunder Snus are already available in the US and world-wide (where legal) through internet snus shops.

The combined Swedish Match snus brand portfolio plus the V2 and Gotlandssnus brands will give SMAB the largest and most diverse snus brand portfolio in the world.  These will all play well through the existing Swedish Match Distribution system, especially in the hot markets of Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

It’s likely Jakobsson brand snus will also appear in the US over-the-counter market, probably in tobacco stores at first, like the new Thunder Xtreme US products.

Jakobsson’s, like V2 and Swedish Match, also make a number of “chew bag” chewing tobacco products which are sold in the EU and other countries which ban Swedish snus for political reasons but not chewing tobacco, hence the earlier Oliver Twist purchase.

No official comment or confirmation has been made by either Swedish Match or Gotlandssnus at the time this article is published. Later, a representative at Gotlandssnus refused to confirm or deny the purchase but added “where there is smoke, there is fire”.

The timing of the Gotlandssnus purchase is imminent, according to multiple sources in Sweden close to the negotiations who asked to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to discuss the acquisition.

Both the V2 Tobacco and Gotlandssnus purchases could be part of Swedish Match’s new global strategy of absorbing mid-sized competitors with key product brands to increase their control of the Swedish snus market.  It also could be an effort to boost the value of SMAB in the event Swedish Match itself is acquired.  Rumors of a Big Tobacco purchase of SMAB have been around for years.  Either way, it’s a good move for Swedish Match and it’s shareholders.

This is an ongoing snus news event and more details will follow as they become available.

LARRY WATERS and
The SnusCENTRAL Intelligence Agency
Telling you stuff we know and others don’t

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