Louisville-based Turning Point Brands to acquire five chewing tobacco brands

No. 2 marketer of chewing tobacco

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2016) — Louisville-based Turning Point Brands, Inc., a leading provider of Other Tobacco Products (OTP) through brands such as Stoker’s, Zig-Zag and Primal, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire four chewing tobacco brands and a twist tobacco brand from Wind River Tobacco Company (WRTC) for approximately $2.5 million.

The addition of the WRTC chewing tobacco brands—with a collective market share of more than 2 percent—will boost Turning Point Brands’ chewing tobacco market share from 25.7 percent in the second quarter to an estimated 27.7 percent.

Subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, the transaction is expected to close before year end. Terms were not disclosed.

The purchase adds WRTC’s discount chewing tobacco brands (Big Mountain, Appalachia, Black Mountain and Springfield Standard) to Turning Point Brands’ chewing tobacco portfolio, which includes Stoker’s (the No. 2 brand); Beech-Nut (No. 6); and Trophy (No. 8).

WRTC’s chewing tobacco brands have been available primarily in the Central and South Atlantic regions of the U.S. TPB also acquired WRTC’s twist tobacco brand, Snake River. Concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the brand expands TPB’s OTP footprint into the twist tobacco market.