Given the size of the recent $1.1 billion acquisition of Imperial Brands’ cigar business, the deal has demonstrated unusually lacking transparency.
The official buyer, Allied Cigar Corporation, is a private firm incorporated in Hong Kong on March 10, according to registry filings, with Chiu King-yan listed as a board member. Chiu is also the chief financial officer of Macau’s largest junket operator, Suncity which owns a majority stake in Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings – a firm whose business includes Tigre de Cristal, a hotel and casino complex near Vladivostok, Russia – where Chiu is also a director.
A spokesperson for Suncity claimed it was not related to the Allied Cigar deal while Imperial Brands declined to comment on the report but called the buyers «the right long-term owners» of the brands.
Cuban Assets
The $1.1 billion deal involves Imperial Brands’ cigar portfolio which includes the likes of Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo. But perhaps more interesting than the heavyweight brands is the inclusion in the deal of a 50/50 joint venture in Cuba which distributes and sells the aforementioned cigars.
Cuba has undergone decades of hostile interactions with the U.S. which has long adopted an isolationist approach to the Caribbean nation. Whilst diplomatic relations resumed five years ago under the Obama administration, the outlook quickly turned sour under the Trump administration which has tightened policy on issues like tourism, immigration and refugees.
