Japan Tobacco Inc. has agreed to buy a Bangladeshi cigarette manufacturer for 124.3 billion taka ($1.5 billion), taking its acquisition strategy to one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.
The Tokyo-based company is acquiring the tobacco business of Akij Group, the second-largest tobacco company in Bangladesh, Japan Tobacco said in a statement Monday.
"With this investment, we continue to accelerate our expansion in emerging markets that matter," Mutsuo Iwai, Japan Tobacco's executive vice president, said in the statement. "Akij's substantial market share places us straight at the No. 2 position in Bangladesh."