British American Tobacco PLC

British American Tobacco PLC
formerly British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. (1902–76) and B.A.T Industries PLC (1976–98)

British conglomerate that is one of the world's largest manufacturers of tobacco products.

The company's international headquarters are in London, while its chief American subsidiary, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, is headquartered in Louisville, Ky. Its acquisitions have included the American Tobacco Company (1994), which represents such cigarette brands as Pall Mall and Lucky Strike; Rothmans International (1999), known for its Dunhill and Rothmans brands; and Canada's largest cigarette company, Imperial Tobacco (2000).

* * *

▪ British conglomerate
formerly  British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. (1902–76)  or  B.A.T Industries PLC (1976–98) 

      British conglomerate that is one of the world's largest manufacturers of tobacco products. The company's international headquarters are in London. Its chief American subsidiary, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

      The British-American Tobacco Company originated in 1902 as a joint venture of the U.S.-based American Tobacco Company and the U.K.-based Imperial Tobacco Company, Ltd. The new company was formed to market American Tobacco's products in Great Britain and Imperial Tobacco's products in the United States. Its major stockholder remained the American Tobacco Company until 1911, when a U.S. Court of Appeals dissolved that trust, and British-American Tobacco became independent. The company expanded rapidly as cigarette use grew exponentially during World War I and afterward, marketing cigarettes throughout the world and achieving an especially strong presence in China, where cigarette smoking had become common by the 1920s. In 1927 British-American Tobacco reentered the American market by acquiring the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, a small tobacco company that grew to become one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the United States with such brands as Kool and Viceroy.

      In 1970 British-American Tobacco acquired majority control of Wiggins Teape Limited, a paper-products manufacturer. Beginning in 1971 it began investing in American department-store chains, eventually buying Marshall Field and Company (Marshall Field's) and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1976 the firm was reorganized as a holding company and renamed B.A.T Industries. It entered the field of financial services with the purchase, in 1989, of the insurer Farmers Group Inc. B.A.T sold its interest in Saks and Marshall Field in 1990, and in 1997 it merged its financial services businesses with the Zurich Group, a Swiss financial services company.

      With its increasing focus on the tobacco business, B.A.T was renamed British American Tobacco PLC in 1998. Its acquisitions have included the American Tobacco Company (1994), which represented such cigarette brands as Pall Mall and Lucky Strike; Rothmans International (1999), known for its Dunhill and Rothmans brands; and Canada's largest cigarette company, Imperial Tobacco (2000).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • British American Tobacco PLC — ant. British American Tobacco Company Ltd. (1902–76) y B.A.T Industries PLC (1976–98) Conglomerado de empresas británico; uno de los mayores fabricantes de productos de tabaco a nivel mundial. Tiene sus oficinas centrales internacionales en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • British American Tobacco — Plc Rechtsform Public Limited Company (PLC) ISIN GB0002875804 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • British American Tobacco — Plc Тип Публичная компания …   Википедия

  • British American Tobacco — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda British American Tobacco es una compañía tabacalera propietaria de algunas de las marcas más importantes de cigarrillos, como Dunhill, Lucky Strike y Pall Mall. Igualmente, es distribuidora a través de su acuerdo con …   Wikipedia Español

  • British American Tobacco — Infobox Company company name = British American Tobacco company company type = Public company slogan = N/A foundation = 1902 location = flagicon|UK London, England, UK key people = Jan du Plessis, Chairman Paul Adams, Chief Executive num… …   Wikipedia

  • British American Tobacco (Zambia) — Rechtsform Aktiengesellschaft Sitz Lusaka Umsatz US $ 37,5 Mio Branche Genußmittelindustrie British American Tobacco (Zambia) Plc (BATZ) ist eine Aktiengesellschaft in Sambia …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • British American Racing — Former F1 team Short name = BAR Honda Long name = flagicon|UKBritish American Racing Base = flagicon|UKBrackley, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom Founders = flagicon|UKCraig Pollock Staff = flagicon|UKAdrian Reynard flagicon|UKDavid Richards… …   Wikipedia

  • tobacco — tobaccoless, adj. /teuh bak oh/, n., pl. tobaccos, tobaccoes. 1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, esp. one of those species, as N. tabacum, whose leaves are prepared for smoking or chewing or as… …   Universalium

  • British — Britishly, adv. Britishness, n. /brit ish/, adj. 1. of or pertaining to Great Britain or its inhabitants. 2. used esp. by natives or inhabitants of Great Britain: In this dictionary, Brit. is an abbreviation for British usage. n. 3. the people… …   Universalium

  • British — (as used in expressions) British Broadcasting Corp. British Petroleum Co. PLC, British Airways British American Tobacco PLC British American Tobacco Company Ltd. (1902–76) British Columbia, University of British Invasion British North America Act …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”