Japan Tobacco to Bid for Turkey’s Cigarette Company

Turkey may raise more than by $2 billion selling the tobacco company, people familiar with the matter said earlier today. The successful bidder would gain control of a company that sells most of the cigarettes favored by Turkish smokers. Japan Tobacco already has the third-biggest share of Turkey’s cigarette market.

“Turkey is a $1 billion market,” Katsuhiko Honda, Japan Tobacco president, said on Wednesday during a press briefing in Tokyo. The Japanese company wants to make an offer for the Turkish cigarette producer, Yusuke Kato, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based firm, confirmed today.