Japan Tobacco faces heat as Philip Morris, Altria seek deal

TOKYO: The possible merger of the world’s two largest tobacco companies presents the latest headache for the industry’s No. 3 player, Japan Tobacco Inc., which is already struggling to keep up with competition in the heated market for alternative smoking devices.

A renewed effort to combine Philip Morris International Inc. and Altria Group Inc., in creating a tobacco behemoth, would merge two of the most popular smoking alternative products: IQOS and Juul. Philip Morris has invested billions of dollars in its heat-not-burn product IQOS, and Altria has invested about $13 billion for 35% of Juul, which could speed up its expansion worldwide with Philip Morris’s help.