British American Tobacco offers $3.5bn for remaining Souza Cruz shares

British American Tobacco (BAT) has submitted a request to purchase the 24.7% of Souza Cruz shares that it does not already own, according to an investor note released on Tuesday.

The $3.5bn proposal covers a price per share of R$26.75, which would be paid in Brazilian real and reduced by any dividend paid by Souza Cruz.

This purchase would award BAT full control over Souza Cruz, the producer of six of Brazil’s top 10 cigarette brands and dominates 80% of the country’s market.

NM Rothschild and Sons carried out an independent valuation of Souza Cruz as part of the offer. It gave a range of R$22.09 to R$24.54 per Souza Cruz share on a discounted cashflow basis.