Pellerano Nadal participates in the sale of Imperial Brands' global premium cigar business

In April 2020, British tobacco company Imperial Brands agreed to sell its global premium cigar business to a group of purchasers for a total value of €1.23 billion. The business has operations in 150 countries and includes the brands Cohiba, Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta.

It was a complex transaction given the multiple jurisdictions involved, US sanctions against Cuba, the combination of share and assets sales and, executing the transaction against the background of COVID-19. The sale was structured in two transactions which consisted in the sale of the United States business (Premium Cigar USA) to Gemstone Investment Holding for €185 million, and the sale of the businesses of the rest of the jurisdictions (Premium Cigar RoW) to Allied Cigar Corporation for €1.04 billion, all subject to regulatory approval.

Pellerano Nadal is acting as local counsel to the purchasers and both transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, while the sale of a facility in the Dominican Republic is expected to conclude in 2021. The Pellerano Nadal team is being led by managing partner Luis R. Pellerano, and includes senior counsel Urania Paulino, and associate Daniella Pellerano for transactional matters, as well as partner Gustavo Mena and senior associate Belkys Rodriguez for regulatory matters. Dentons, in London, is acting as international counsel to the buyers.

About the law firm Pellerano Nadal Law & Consulting

Pellerano Nadal is a full-service law and consulting firm founded by a talented and experienced team of professionals, characterized by the provision of legal, regulatory and consulting services, with the highest standards of excellence.

The lawyers have decades of experience representing multinational and local clients in complex international and cross-border transactions.

Pellerano Nadal focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate and project financing, capital markets transactions, restructuring and other complex corporate matters for a wide range of specialized industries including energy, emerging technologies, tourism, aviation, mining, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

The firm is recognized internationally as one of the leading legal firms in the country and its founding partner has been consistently recognized as one of the most prominent corporate lawyers in the Dominican Republic by legal publications such as Chambers and Partners, International Financial Law Review, Legal 500, Latin Lawyer and Who's Who Legal.