Altria Group to decide on spin off

ALTRIA Group Inc, the world’s largest tobacco company, may announce plans this week to spin off its international unit, bowing to investors who favour faster overseas growth and reduced exposure to smokers’ lawsuits.

The odds are seven in 10 that Altria’s board will decide to split off Philip Morris International after directors meet August 29, Filippe Goossens, a Credit Suisse analyst in New York, wrote in a note to investors last week.

“The best case is to spin Philip Morris International,” Cambiar Investors LLC President Brian Barish said on August 10. The Denver- based firm managed $10 billion (€7.4bn), including 3.1 million Altria shares, as of June.

Chief executive Louis Camilleri told investors in 2004 that Altria was considering a breakup after lower food profit hurt earnings.

Once the New York-based company spun off Kraft Foods in March, speculation grew that the international unit would be next.