KT&G acquires ASF this year, aiming for the global nicotine bag market.

According to Nate, KT&G will launch its nicotine pouch business next year, considering it one of the future tobacco products . KT&G plans to complete its acquisition of the Nordic nicotine pouch company ASF within the year to rapidly enter the global nicotine pouch market.

Previously, KT&G signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Altria in September to lay the foundation for a strategic partnership in the global nicotine and non-nicotine markets, and has been working towards acquiring ASF. To this end, KT&G and Altria established a special purpose company (SPC) in Sweden.

KT&G plans to acquire 100% of ASF's shares for 260 billion won, and then sell 49% of those shares to Altria. Therefore, KT&G's final stake in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) is expected to be 51%, with an estimated investment of 160 billion won.

A representative from KT&G stated, “ One of our core tasks next year is to rapidly expand our nicotine bag business from the five Nordic countries—Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland—currently the main areas covered by ASF, to global regions including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America, following the completion of the acquisition. According to Euromonitor data, the global nicotine bag market reached $11.232 billion (16.46 trillion won) last year, a sevenfold increase from $1.647 billion (2.41 trillion won) in 2020. This year, the market size is projected to grow by more than 30% compared to last year, reaching $14.755 billion (21.63 trillion won).

As of last year, PMI dominated the nicotine bag market, with its Zyn brand holding a 41.1% market share. PMI acquired Swedish Matchi in 2022, becoming the world's largest nicotine bag company. Following closely behind are BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), with its Velo brand holding a 24.6% market share, and Altria, with its On! brand holding a 13.8% market share. ASF, which KT&G is seeking to acquire, held a 3.2% market share in Western Europe last year with its LOOP product. ASF's sales last year were estimated at 75 billion won (approximately US$50.98 million) .

Source: Nate

电子雾化与HNB产品都是新型电子产品，结构虽小，却融合应用多种材料、表面处理、芯片电子等技术工艺，而且雾化技术一直在不断更迭，供应链在逐步完善，为了促进供应链企业间有一个良好的对接交流，艾邦搭建产业微信群交流平台，欢迎加入；Vape e-cigarettes (VAPE) and Heat-Not-Burn e-cigarettes (HNB) are both emerging electronic products. Despite their compact size, they integrate various materials, surface treatment technologies, chip electronics, and other advanced technical processes. Moreover, atomization technology is constantly evolving and the supply chain is being progressively perfected. To facilitate good communication and networking among supply chain enterprises, Aibang has established an industry WeChat group communication platform and warmly welcomes interested enterprises to join.