LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Turning Point Brands, Inc. (“TPB” or the “Company”) (NYSE: TPB), a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded consumer products, including alternative smoking accessories and consumables with active ingredients, announced today that the Company has acquired certain cigar assets of Unitabac, LLC (“Unitabac”). The acquisition is comprised of a robust portfolio of cigarillo products and all related intellectual property, including Cigarillo Non-Tip (NT) Homogenized Tobacco Leaf (HTL), Rolled Leaf and Natural Leaf Cigarillo Products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquired brands compete in three core segments: Trivo, Hype and Hi-Fi within the Cigarillo NT HTL segment; Cloud9 within the Natural Leaf Cigarillo segment; and Badlands within the Rolled Leaf segment. These cigars are all Grandfathered Products or subject of Substantial Equivalence Reports in place with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We are incredibly excited to welcome the Unitabac cigar brands to the Turning Point Brands family,” said Larry Wexler, CEO, Turning Point Brands. “Industry analysts have highlighted that the multibillion-dollar cigarillo market growth is being fueled, in part, by the rapidly expanding movement toward cannabis legalization. Gaining access to Unitabac’s product portfolio provides us with necessary assets to build a more competitive platform to participate in this large and growing market. Our intention is to leverage both the Zig-Zag tobacco brand strength and the extensive reach of our retail distribution platform to further penetrate the cigar category by introducing new line extensions under the Zig-Zag tobacco brand and expanding the reach of the Unitabac cigar products.”
“Turning Point Brands’ deep knowledge of the evolving consumer experience, coupled with the Company’s sales and marketing leadership, make the team an ideal partner for Unitabac,” added Rush Patel, Founder, Unitabac. “With Turning Point Brands’ competitive advantages, grounded in superior marketing and distribution reach, I am confident our portfolio of products and brands developed over the past decade will continue to flourish under its forward-looking stewardship.”
About Turning Point Brands
Turning Point Brands (NYSE: TPB) is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded consumer products, including alternative smoking accessories and consumables with active ingredients, through its iconic core brands Zig-Zag® and Stoker’s® and its emerging brands within the NewGen segment. TPB’s products are available in more than 210,000 retail outlets in North America, in addition to sites such as www.zigzag.com, www.nu-x.com and www.solacevapor.com. For the latest news and information about TPB and its brands, please visit www.turningpointbrands.com.
About Unitabac
Unitabac has offered a diverse portfolio of cigars and other products to trade partners and adult consumers since 2010.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan" and "will" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. As a result, these statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events may differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by TPB in this press release, its reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and other public statements made from time-to-time speak only as of the date made. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible for TPB to predict or identify all such events or how they may affect it. TPB has no obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by federal securities laws. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to those included it the company’s Annual reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed by the Company with the SEC. These statements constitute the Company’s cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.