British American Tobacco completes acquisition of Reynolds to create world’s biggest tobacco firm

British American Tobacco (BAT) has come under fire from health campaigners after shareholders approved its buyout of American firm Reynolds on Wednesday, which will create the world’s biggest tobacco company.

Shareholders of both companies approved the deal, which will take BAT back into the US market after a 12-year absence. It ends American ownership of Reynolds American Incorporated (RAI), a tobacco company headquartered in the US south since 1875.

The move is also expected to speed up the development of e-cigarettes and vapes.

The deal was backed by nearly all shareholders who voted at a special meeting at the Hilton London Bankside in London. At Reynolds headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, meanwhile, the vast majority of Reynolds shares approved the deal.

BAT is buying the 57.8 per cent of Reynolds it does not already own. The cash-and-stock offer announced in January valued each Reynolds share at US$59.64, up from US$56.50 offered in October. The deal is expected to complete by next Tuesday.

BAT is one of the multinational tobacco companies that have threatened governments in at least eight countries in Africa to block or dilute new regulations to limit the harm caused by smoking. BAT says it is not against all regulation but sometimes needed to intervene.