Regulatory News:
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM) announced
today that it has extended the expiry of its CAD $30.00 per share cash
offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of Rothmans Inc.
(Rothmans).
The extension is procedural, being related to the last remaining
regulatory approval required for the transaction, namely a determination
of net benefit by the Minister of Industry pursuant to the Investment
Canada Act. Under the Investment Canada Act, the review period runs for
an initial 45-day period from the date an application for review is
filed. PMI filed its application for review on July 31, 2008 and,
accordingly, the offer period is being extended to midnight (Vancouver
time) at the end of September 16, 2008, to permit completion of the
review.
As previously announced on August 14, 2008, PMI received an advance
ruling certificate ("ARC") from the Canadian Commissioner of
Competition. The issuance of the ARC satisfies the other regulatory
condition to PMI's offer, dated August 7,
2008, that clearance be obtained under the Competition Act (Canada).
The offer documents are available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com
under the SEDAR profile for Rothmans.
About Philip Morris International Inc.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is the leading international
tobacco company, with seven of the world's top
15 brands, including Marlboro, the number one cigarette brand
worldwide. PMI has more than 75,000 employees and its products are sold
in approximately 160 countries. In 2007, the company held an estimated
15.6% share of the total international cigarette market outside of the
U.S. For more information, see www.pmintl.com.
For further information:
Investor Relations:
New York:
(917) 663-2233
Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4666
www.pmintl.com/investors
