Imperial Brands looks beyond tobacco to pot
Imperial is interested in a niche that’s emerging between recreational and medicinal uses of cannabis, calling the segment ‘wellness’
Geneva — Imperial Brands CEO Alison Cooper has signaled that the UK tobacco company’s possible interest in expanding more in cannabis as the industry seeks new avenues to combat the continuous decline in smoking. “It’s an interesting space to explore,” Cooper said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday. The maker of Winston cigarettes is studying the market, she said, though it hasn’t made any commitments beyond the announcement in June of an investment in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, a start-up linked to Oxford University that’s developing treatments derived from the marijuana plant. Imperial Brands’s stock rose as much as 3.6% in London trading, an unusually steep move. Any mention of an interest in the legal cannabis market has lifted company values lately, benefiting players as diverse as New Age Beverages and IntelGenx Technologies. Imperial is interested in a niche that’s emerging between recreational and medicinal uses, Cooper said, calling the segment “wellness...
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