MO Altria Group Inc

By Allison Prang 

Altria Group Inc. said Thursday it invested $12.8 billion in cash in Juul Labs Inc., giving it a 35% stake in the e-cigarette firm and helping add to its portfolio outside of regular cigarettes.

The investment values Juul at about $38 billion, pushing the private company's valuation past those of other startups like Pinterest and Elon Musk's SpaceX. Altria said Juul will stay completely independent.

"We understand the controversy and skepticism that comes with an affiliation and partnership with the largest tobacco company in the U.S.," Juul Chief Executive Kevin Burns said in a written statement Thursday. "We were skeptical as well. But over the course of the last several months we were convinced by actions, not words, that in fact this partnership could help accelerate our success switching adult smokers."

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Altria was getting close to a deal with Juul.

As part of its investment Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, said it will give Juul shelf space by its own products and let the e-cigarette company market to Altria's customers using its databases. Juul can also utilize Altria's retail footprint of about 230,000 stores.

When antitrust regulators approve the deal, Altria can appoint one-third of the directors on Juul's board, Altria said.

Altria is also limited from expanding its 35% stake in Juul as part of a standstill agreement, it said. For six years from the deal's close, Altria also can't transfer or sell Juul shares.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 20, 2018 07:51 ET (12:51 GMT)

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