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History

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JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco business of Japan Tobacco Inc., a leading international tobacco product manufacturer, with a global market share of almost 10%.

Our company was formed in 1999 when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased, for USD 7.8 billion, the international tobacco operations of the US multinational R.J.Reynolds.

In 2007, Gallaher, a FTSE 100 business, was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc. for GBP 9.4 billion. At the time, this was the largest foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.

In 2009, the JT Group acquired part of the worldwide business of Tribac Leaf Limited (a company that trades tobacco in Africa), as well as two Brazilian companies active in the tobacco business, Kannenberg and KBH&C. In the same year, the JT Group also set up JTI Leaf Services, a joint venture with two leaf suppliers in the US – Hail & Cotton Inc. and JEB International.

Timeline