USA: Philip Morris International to reach agreement with Altria Group

Philip Morris International (PMI) has reached an agreement with Altria Group (Altria) to end the companies’ commercial covering IQOS in the USA.

From 30th April 2024, PMI will have full rights to sell IQOS in the USA. As part of the agreement, PMI will pay a total cash consideration of $2.7 billion.

The agreement between the two companies for the commercialization of heat-not-burn products in the USA was established in 2013, where Altria had ownership of certain USA intellectual property rights related to the IQSO technology.

According to the company’s press release, PMI plans to invest behind IQOS to bring it to market at scale across the USA.

“Our commercial plans include full-scale launches in key cities and regions with rapid progression to a national presence, and we believe that IQOS heat-not-burn products could account for around 10% of total U.S. cigarette and heated tobacco unit volume by 2030,” said Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer at PMI. “We see an accelerated path to profitability with an attractive payback period enhanced by the absence of a PMI domestic combustible tobacco business”.

Source: Philip Morris International