Japan Tobacco became the sole owner of the Gallaher Group on 18 April 2007, in the largest ever foreign acquisition in Japanese history.
It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share (after Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco), and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers.
These privatisation plans were dropped in November of that year when the leading $1.15bn bid by Japan Tobacco International was deemed too far below government expectations.
Japan | Empire of Japan | Prime Minister of Japan | tobacco | Japan national football team | Emperor of Japan | Voice acting in Japan | Sea of Japan | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives | Imperial Tobacco | Municipalities of Japan | Culture of Japan | The Japan Times | Japan national rugby union team | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force | Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) | American Tobacco Company | Democratic Party of Japan | R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | Japan Airlines | Supreme Court of Japan | Important Cultural Properties of Japan | Bank of Japan | X Japan | Tobacco | Prefectures of Japan | Japan Railways Group | Japan Foundation | Imperial House of Japan | Government of Japan |
The 1994 auction IPO of Japan Tobacco was substantially larger (with proceeds more than double those of Singapore Telecom and triple those of Google), but this auction was discriminatory or pay-what-you-bid, not uniform price or "Dutch".
In 2007, Gallaher Group, a FTSE 100 business, was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc. for GBP 9.4 billion.