Agreement gives JT a global footprint in the e-cigarette market.
Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) has entered into an agreement to acquire Logic Technology Development LLC, one of the leading U.S. e-cigarette brands.
Founded in 2010, Logic sells a full range of high quality rechargeable, ready-to-use and disposable e-cigarettes, including the Logic Pro tank system, newly launched in April 2015.
“With the Logic brand and its strong portfolio of products, the JT Group has a sizeable participation in the largest and fast-growing US e-cigarette market,” commented Masamichi Terabatake, JTI’s (Japan Tobacco International) executive vice president and deputy CEO. “Logic’s well established presence in the U.S., in addition to our acquisition of E-Lites in the UK, further underpins our global ambitions to become the leader in emerging products.”
The executive management team of Logic will remain with the JT Group post-acquisition in order to benefit from their extensive knowledge and experience of the U.S. e-cigarette market.
“With the backing of JT Group’s global resources, we believe Logic is uniquely positioned to accelerate its growth in the U.S. market and further enhance its product offering,” said Eli Alelov, Logic’s co-founder and CEO.
“We are excited about the transaction and look forward to the next phase of Logic’s development with the JT Group,” added Howard Panes, Logic’s co-founder.
The transaction will be funded by the Group’s existing cash and loan facilities, with an expected minor effect on the Group’s consolidated performance for the fiscal year 2015. JT expects to complete the acquisition in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2015 following regulatory clearance.
