10th Mar 2008 07:05
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC10 March 2008 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITEDSTATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. 10 March 2008 Imperial Tobacco Group PLC Announces the Disposal of its 49.95 per cent Stake inAldeasa, S.A. Following the acquisition of Altadis, S.A. ("Altadis"), Imperial Tobacco GroupPLC ("Imperial Tobacco") today announces it has agreed to dispose of its 49.95per cent shareholding in Aldeasa, S.A. ("Aldeasa") to Autogrill Espana S.A.,("Autogrill"), a subsidiary of Autogrill S.p.A.. Aldeasa is a Spanish based airport duty free retailer which generatedconsolidated sales of approximately euro 830 million in the year to 31 December2007. Aldeasa has operated as a joint venture between Altadis and Autogrillsince 2005. Imperial Tobacco's stake is to be sold for a total cash consideration of euro275 million, which represents an enterprise value (including Imperial Tobacco'sshare of Aldeasa's net debt) of c.euro 355 million for Imperial Tobacco's 49.95per cent share of Aldeasa, and a 2007 EV/EBITDA multiple of 9.2x. Thetransaction is conditional on approval from the European Commission, andImperial Tobacco expects that it will be completed by May 2008. Enquiries Imperial TobaccoAlex Parsons (Head of Corporate Communications) Telephone: +44 (0) 7967 467241Simon Evans (Group Press Officer) Telephone: +44 (0) 7967 467684John Nelson-Smith (Investor Relations Manager) Telephone: +44 (0) 117 933 7032Nicola Tate (Investor Relations Manager) Telephone: +44 (0) 117 933 7082 Citi (financial adviser to Imperial Tobacco) Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7986 4000Ian Carnegie-BrownIan Hart Citi, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FinancialServices Authority, is acting exclusively for Imperial Tobacco and no one elsein relation to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not beresponsible to anyone other than Imperial Tobacco for providing the protectionsafforded to clients of Citi nor for providing advice in relation to thesematters, the content of this announcement or any matter referred to in it. Copies of Imperial Tobacco's announcements are available on its website:www.imperial-tobacco.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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