Altria exchanges stake in Juul for heated-tobacco intellectual property

Tobacco giant Altria
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on Friday said it had exchanged its minority stake in embattled e-cigarette maker Juul for “a non-exclusive, irrevocable global license to certain of JUUL’s heated tobacco intellectual property.” Altria Chief Executive Billy Gifford said in a statement that “We believe exchanging our Juul ownership for intellectual property rights is the appropriate path forward for our business. Juul faces significant regulatory and legal challenges and uncertainties, many of which could exist for many years. We are continuing to explore all options for how we can best compete in the e-vapor category.” Altria said it estimated the value of its investment in Juul at $250 million. It said it would book the financial impact of Friday’s decision in the first quarter. Shares finished 0.2% higher during regular trading on Friday, and were up 0.1% after hours.