British American Tobacco lights up Reynolds deal

British American Tobacco (BAT) raised its bid for Reynolds by 5.6% on Tuesday, turning the deal from a potentially hostile takeover into a friendly one. The cash component of British American Tobacco’s offer has been lifted to $29.44 from $24.13, but the share component has been reduced to 0.5260 from 0.5502 British American Tobacco shares per Reynolds share. British American Tobacco said this raised its bid to $59.64 from $56.50 per Reynolds share. Reynolds’s share price rose 0.41% to $55.97 in New York while British American Tobacco rose 0.34% R784.99 on the JSE following the announcement. British American Tobacco first announced its intention to buy the 57.8% of Reynolds it does not already own on October 21. Its initial offer was reportedly rejected by Reynolds’s largest shareholders. British American Tobacco said in Tuesday’s statement that the new offer was unanimously approved by a transaction committee of independent Reynolds directors. At current share prices, British Ameri...