Attached files
file | filename |
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8-K - FORM 8-K - REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC | g22930e8vk.htm |
EX-10.2 - EX-10.2 - REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC | g22930exv10w2.htm |
EX-10.1 - EX-10.1 - REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC | g22930exv10w1.htm |
Exhibit
99.1
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | ||
P.O. Box 2959 | ||
Winston-Salem, NC 27102 |
Contact:
|
David Howard | RJRT 2010-02 | ||
(336) 741-3489 |
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company resolves Canadian government contraband claims
Winston-Salem, N.C. April 13, 2010 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company has entered into a
comprehensive settlement agreement with the Canadian federal, provincial and territorial
governments to resolve all of the governments civil claims related to cigarette smuggling in
Canada during the 1980s and 1990s.
As part of the civil settlement, R.J. Reynolds has agreed to pay the governments $325 million
Canadian. Additionally, should R.J. Reynolds decide to sell tobacco products in Canada in the
future, the company has agreed to adopt packaging, marking and other measures that will assist the
Canadian governments in their efforts to combat the movement of contraband tobacco products in
Canada.
We are pleased to reach a resolution of this matter after more than ten years of litigation both
in the United States and in Canada, says Martin L. Holton III senior vice president and general
counsel for R.J. Reynolds. This settlement enables us to eliminate the continuing expense,
inconvenience and distraction to our core business, and the uncertainties inherent in continuing to
litigate complex matters of this nature.
R.J. Reynolds does not conduct business in the Canadian tobacco market. R.J. Reynolds and its
parent company, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc., sold its international businesses, including
RJR-Macdonald, Inc., its former Canadian affiliate, to Japan Tobacco Inc. in 1999.
In a separate matter, Northern Brands International, Inc., a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Holdings, Inc., has entered into a plea agreement with the Ministry of the Attorney General of
Ontario. As a result of its plea to one count of conspiracy to aid others in the sale and
possession of contraband cigarettes in the early 1990s, Northern Brands is required to pay a fine
of $75 million Canadian. Northern Brands was created in 1992 for the purpose of transacting all
sales of RJR-Macdonald tobacco products in the United States. Northern Brands ceased being an
operating company in 1997.
Web Disclosure
RAIs Web site, www.ReynoldsAmerican.com, is the primary source of publicly disclosed news
about RAI and its operating companies. We use the Web site as our primary means of distributing
quarterly earnings and other company news. We encourage investors and others to register at
www.ReynoldsAmerican.com to receive alerts when news about the company has been posted.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, an indirect subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc.
(NYSE: RAI), is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of
every three cigarettes sold in the country. The companys brands include five of the 10
best-selling U.S. cigarette brands: Camel, Pall Mall, Winston, Kool and Doral. For more
information, visit www.RJRT.com.
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