18
October 2024
British American Tobacco p.l.c. ("BAT")
Canada -
CCAA Update
In March 2019, Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited
(ITCAN), a subsidiary of BAT, obtained creditor protection under
the Canadian Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Under a
confidential court supervised mediation process ITCAN has since
been negotiating a possible settlement of all of its outstanding
tobacco litigation in Canada while continuing to run ITCAN's
business in the normal course.
BAT now notes the court-appointed mediator's
and monitor's plan of compromise and arrangement, which has been
filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
In response to the filing of such plan, BAT's
Canadian subsidiary, ITCAN, stated "Today marks an important step
towards a potential settlement. Since filing for CCAA protection in
2019, ITCAN has been working in good faith under the direction of
the mediator to resolve all tobacco litigation in
Canada.
"The plan resolves all Canadian tobacco
litigation and provides a full and comprehensive release to
Imperial, BAT and all related entities for all tobacco claims. This
settlement will be funded by the cash on hand and the cash
generated from the future sale of tobacco products in Canada while
at the same time maximizing recovery for the creditors. It also
allows the Canadian tobacco companies to continue operating as a
going concern for the benefit of all stakeholders.
"ITCAN is supportive of the settlement
framework and structure in the mediator's and monitor's plan of
arrangement and the progress that has been made, and we remain
hopeful that a comprehensive settlement can be achieved quickly. We
look forward to working towards a final agreement that is in the
best interests of all stakeholders, including the claimants, and
bringing this process to a successful conclusion."
A BAT spokesperson said "Today marks a positive
step towards finding a resolution. This has been a complex,
confidential mediation and, like our Canadian colleagues, we are
hopeful of a quick conclusion to this process and securing a
Canadian settlement for the benefit of all
stakeholders."
Notes to Editors
CCAA is the Companies' Creditors Arrangement
Act, and it refers to the Canadian Federal Act that allows
corporations the opportunity to restructure their affairs. An
organisation that files for court protection under CCAA continues
to operate and maintain business that is "in the ordinary course"
or business as usual.
FTI Consulting Canada Inc. is serving as the
Court-appointed Monitor of Imperial Tobacco Canada. Additional
information regarding Imperial Tobacco Canada's CCAA proceedings
will be available on the Monitor's website at
http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/imperialtobacco/.
ENDS
Enquiries
Media
Centre
+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours) | press_office@bat.com
| @BATplc
Investor
Relations
Victoria Buxton: +44 (0)20 7845 2012 | IR_team@bat.com
About BAT
BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods
business. Our purpose is to create A Better Tomorrow™ by Building a
Smokeless World. This commitment is demonstrated by our ambition to
have 50 million consumers of our smokeless products by
2030.
BAT employs over 46,000 people and, in 2023,
the BAT Group generated revenue of £27.28 billion, with an adjusted
profit from operations of £12.46 billion.
BAT currently has 26.4 million consumers of its
smokeless brands, which accounted for 17.9% of Group revenue in the
first half of 2024. We are committed to becoming a predominantly
smokeless business and have been clear on our ambition that 50% of
our revenue will come from smokeless products by 2035.
The company's Strategic Portfolio is made up of
its global cigarette brands and a growing range of smokeless
nicotine and tobacco products. These include our Vapour brand Vuse;
our Heated Product brand glo; and Velo our Modern Oral (nicotine
pouch) brand. These New Category products have delivered more than
£3 billion in annual revenue since their introduction a decade
ago.
The company continues to be clear that
combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way
to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. While addictive
and not risk free, to help Build a Smokeless World, BAT encourages
those who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to
our smokeless alternatives.
We are also reducing our use of natural
resources, improving livelihoods, and delivering on our climate
goals to be Net Zero across our value chain by 2050.
Forward-looking statements
This release
contains certain forward-looking statements, including
"forward-looking" statements made within the meaning of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements
are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases
such as "believe," "anticipate," "could," "may," "would," "should,"
"intend," "plan," "potential," "predict," "will," "expect,"
"estimate," "project," "positioned," "strategy," "outlook",
"target" and similar expressions. These include statements
regarding our expectations of a comprehensive settlement, our
customer target ambition, New Categories revenue targets and our
ESG targets.
All such
forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that
are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. It is
believed that the expectations reflected in this release are
reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
currently anticipated. A review of the reasons why actual results
and developments may differ materially from the expectations
disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements can be found
by referring to the information contained under the headings
"Cautionary Statement" and "Group Principal Risks", including the
risk that product liability, regulatory or other significant cases
(including investigations) may be lost or settled resulting in a
material loss or other consequence, in the 2023 Annual Report and
Form 20-F of British American Tobacco p.l.c.
(BAT).
Additional
information concerning these and other factors can be found in
BAT's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC"), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F and Current
Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge at the
SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov and BAT's Annual Reports, which
may be obtained free of charge from the BAT
website www.bat.com.
Past
performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing
advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The
forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information
available at the date of preparation of this release and BAT
undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
such forward-looking statements.
