Marlboro maker leaps into the cannabis trade with $2.4B

E-Paper | May 09, 2026

Marlboro maker leaps into the cannabis trade with $2.4B

AP Published December 7, 2018

In this July 17, 2015, file photo, store manager Stephanie Hunt poses for photos with a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, an Altria brand, at a Smoker Friendly shop in Pittsburgh. — AP

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One of the world's biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $2.4 billion investment in Cronos Group, a Canadian medical and recreational marijuana company.

Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, is taking a 45 per cent stake in the Toronto company.

Cronos said on Friday that the Richmond, Virginia, tobacco company will pay another $1.4 billion for warrants that if exercised, would give the Altria a 55 per cent majority ownership stake.

Cronos first announced that it was in talks with Altria this week.

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Ahmed bin Babar

Dec 07, 2018 07:29pm

Profits preferred over public health are inhumane...

Recommend 0

Vigilante.

Dec 07, 2018 08:28pm

Sin tax must be applied to cigarettes, tobacco, soft drinks and imported cosmetics and shisha the coffee shops flavoured tobacco use.

Recommend 0

Maliha Lodhi

Dec 07, 2018 10:19pm

Pakistan must raise taxes on all discretionary products especially those injurious to health - even chewing gum, paan, beer nuts and soft drinks and of course all liquor flavored candy.

Recommend 0

Pro Bono Publico

Dec 07, 2018 11:20pm

Very bad

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Shahid Ehsan Khalid

Dec 08, 2018 12:33am

The article is about a North American company, which is smart enough to understand where the next big buck is. How come the comments are all about Pakistan and taxes? Such tight hipped attitude is peculiar and more in line with Modi's Bharat than ordinary Pak thinking. Very disapponting indeed.

Recommend 0

Gordon D. Walker

Dec 08, 2018 03:43am

@Shahid Ehsan Khalid, An excellent rejoinder that spotlights the dichotomy that is the billion dollar investment in a proven medically beneficial drug (marijuana) over a cancer producing product (cigarettes) by a company that wears the Marlboro brand. Gordon D. Walker Canada

Recommend 0

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