Japan Tobacco set for $1.5b takeover  of Akij tobacco

Japan Tobacco Inc said on Monday it had agreed to buy the tobacco business of Akij Group, Bangladesh’s second-biggest tobacco company, for about Tk 124.3 billion ($1.48 billion) to further boost its presence in Asia.

Japan Tobacco said Akij holds a one-fifth share of Bangladesh’s cigarette market, the world’s eighth-largest in the world, and would add about 17 billion units to the Japanese company’s sales volume.

The acquisition of the business, United Dhaka Tobacco Co, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year pending regulatory clearance, reports bdnew24.com citing a statement by Japan Tobacco.