Japan Tobacco International, listed as a public company, has pulled the rug from under its competitors, offering a little over half a billion dollars to acquire 40pc of Ethiopias tobacco monopoly.
This offer is not only the highest ever made for any Ethiopian state-owned enterprise, but also doubled the offers of its rival companies, after the bid was opened today, May 19, 2016. American British Tobacco, known for brands such as Rothmans and Dunhill; Phillip Morris International, known for Marlboro and a Chinese company--China Logistics Company Ltd made offers of less than a quarter of a billion dollars. They were among the five bidders participating today, including an individual from Niger.
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