Philip Morris × Swedish Match Acquisition

On November 28, Philip Morris Holland Holdings B.V.1, one of the affiliates of Philip Morris International manufacturer of Marlboro, announced that it has acquired 93.11 percent of the shares in Swedish Match manufacturer of ZYN, a virally-popular nicotine substitute and intends to initiate a compulsory redemption of the remaining shares and request the delisting of Swedish Match from the stock market. The European Commission, under the EU Merger Regulation, approved the transaction. The transaction could have led to foreclosure effects in Sweden, given that SMD was the only distributor of combustible tobacco, smoke-free, and related products in Sweden. To address the Commissions preliminary competition concerns, Philip Morris International offered to divest Swedish Matchs logistics arm, SMD Logistics. Swedish Match shares were subsequently delisted from Nasdaq Stockholm on December 30, 2022.