BAT Canada gets court protection from creditors after losing smoking case
The decision lets Imperial Tobacco continue operating its businesses normally, and follows a similar move by Japan Tobacco’s JTI-Macdonald unit last week
British American Tobacco’s (BAT's) Canadian unit won court protection from creditors, becoming the second major tobacco company to seek relief after a legal defeat over the risks of smoking. BAT’s Imperial Tobacco Canada was granted protection by the Ontario Superior Court, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The decision lets Imperial Tobacco continue operating its businesses normally, and follows a similar move by Japan Tobacco’s JTI-Macdonald unit last week. The Canadian units of BAT, Japan Tobacco and Philip Morris International were ordered earlier in March to pay damages estimated at about C$13.6bn (R146bn) after losing an appeal of class actions filed by Quebec smokers seeking damages. BAT had said last week that the ruling would hit its profit, and set aside C$758m to cover damages. Latest blow Imperial Tobacco Canada said its share of the judgment amounts to as much as C$9.2bn. The company said if it had not obtained court protection, it could have been required to ...
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