BAT Sale of Trademarks

29 Apr 2005 16:29

British American Tobacco PLC29 April 2005 British American Tobacco Sells Trademarks to Gallaher Plc British American Tobacco has sold to Gallaher Plc the Benson & Hedges and SilkCut trademarks in Malta and Cyprus (North and South), and the Silk Cut trademarkin Lithuania for a cash sum of £70 million. The transactions are in accordance with contracts of 1993 and 1994 in whichGallaher agreed to acquire these trademarks in European Union states. Therecent accession of Malta, Cyprus and Lithuania necessitated today's sale. ENQUIRIES British American Tobacco Press Office Investor RelationsDavid Betteridge/Teresa La Thangue/Emily Brand Ralph Edmondson/Rachael Cummins+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours) +44 (0) 20 7845 1180 or 1519 Notes to Editors In 1993 and 1994 British American Tobacco entered into a series of agreementswith American Brands (Gallaher's then parent company) to simplify ownershiprights of Lucky Strike, Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut. Broadly, British AmericanTobacco gained ownership of all of American Brands' Lucky Strike rights andBenson & Hedges and Silk Cut outside of the EU. Gallaher obtained ownership ofBenson & Hedges and Silk Cut within the European Union. These contracts alsoprovided that Gallaher would acquire British American Tobacco's Benson & Hedgesand Silk Cut rights in countries that joined the EU. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange