British American Tobacco Share Price (BATS)

BATS - British American Tobacco Investor Summary

British American Tobacco is one of the world's largest tobacco companies and is currently listed on the FTSE 100 share price index. The company was formed in 1902 by the Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company. The venture between the companies was intended to organise the production and marketing of both companies' products outside of the UK and USA, the respective 'home' markets. The original companies would instead trade in their own home market drawing on the brands of both companies.

Having begun its operations in Germany, Japan, Africa and Australia, the company continued to expand throughout Western Europe, South East Asia and Africa after the turn of the century. By the second decade of the twentieth century, the American Tobacco Company had divested its interest in the business and it was listed on the London Stock Exchange independently. After opening a division to focus on central and South America, British American Tobacco itself began trading in the USA with the acquisition of Brown & Williamson in the 1920s. After the Second World War the company was left in a weakened state but was able to re-strengthen its position through continued acquisition, including the well known Benson and Hedges brand. Throughout the 1960s the firm diversified into food production and distribution which continues in decades that follow with acquisitions such as Argos and Allied Dunbar in the UK, and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US. By the late 1980s, the firm's tobacco business was stable and the firm began to divest its non-tobacco interests. The firm now employs over 50,000 staff and had revenues of over £26 billion in 2007.