British American Tobacco offered to pay $47-billion (about R659-billion) for full control of Reynolds American , proposing a blockbuster transatlantic deal that would create the world's largest publicly traded tobacco company and put brands such as Lucky Strike and Camel under the same roof. The unsolicited cash and stock offer of $56.50 a share, announced on Friday, would allow London-based BAT to acquire the 58% of Reynolds that it does not already own. But the UK company only plans to pursue the transaction with the support of Reynolds. The two sides had not yet held negotiations, BAT said, and the Reynolds board is just now reviewing the offer. The move renews the merger frenzy of a fast-consolidating tobacco industry, where companies are fighting for market share and scrambling to develop alternatives to traditional cigarettes. For BAT, the idea is to get a bigger foothold in the US and capitalise on Reynolds's leadership in electronic cigarettes. The acquisition would be the b...
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