Marlboro maker Altria agrees to buy e-cigarette startup NJOY for nearly $2.8 billion

In a bid to fortify its portfolio of smoke-free products, Altria Group said Monday it would bargain e-cigarette startup NJOY for $2.75 billion.

Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, volition person afloat planetary ownership of NJOY's e-vapor merchandise portfolio, including NJOY ACE, the lone pod-based e-vapor merchandise with marketplace authorizations from the FDA.

"We judge we tin responsibly accelerate U.S. big smoker and competitory big vaper adoption of NJOY ACE successful ways that NJOY could not arsenic a standalone company," Altria CEO Billy Gifford said.

The announcement comes soon aft Altria exited its involvement successful physics cigaret shaper Juul Labs. Altria acquired a involvement successful Juul Labs that was valued astatine $12.8 cardinal successful 2018, but the woody rapidly soured amid scrutiny from national regulators and thousands of lawsuits that claimed the Juul had targeted minors. Altria's Juul involvement was precocious valued astatine $250 million, according to Reuters.

Juul came adjacent to filing for bankruptcy successful November, and its products stay nether scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration, which pulled them disconnected shelves nationwide concisely did past year. In September, Altria ended its noncompete agreement with Juul.

The Altria-NJOY woody includes $500 cardinal successful currency payments contingent connected definite regulatory outcomes with NJOY products.

NJOY has six products that person received afloat support for merchantability from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It's 1 of the fewer vaping companies whose products person clearance from national regulators.

"We judge the strengths of our commercialized resources tin payment big baccy consumers and grow competition," Gifford added.