Swedish Match agrees to sell South African operations to Philip Morris International

Swedish Match agrees to sell South African operations to Philip Morris
International

Swedish Match AB [publ] announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell
its South African operations, Swedish Match South Africa (Proprietary) Limited
(“SMSA”) to Philip Morris International [NYSE/Euronext Paris: PMI] (“PMI”) for a
purchase price amounting to 1.75 billion ZAR.

The transaction is subject to approval by the South African Competition
Authority and is expected to be completed during the second half of 2009.

SMSA is the South African leader in OTP (other tobacco products), with a No. 1
position in the pipe tobacco category through the well-recognized Boxer and Best
Blend brands; SMSA also has a No. 2 position in the nasal snuff category with
its Taxi brand. In 2008 the pipe tobacco and nasal snuff businesses had total
sales of 687 million ZAR.

“This agreement with Philip Morris International is in line with Swedish Match's
strategy to focus on smokefree tobacco, cigars and lights products. SMSA will
continue to be a strong player in South Africa and we believe that PMI will
benefit significantly from its deeply-entrenched and highly-recognized brands
and its dedicated people” said Lars Dahlgren, President and CEO of Swedish Match
AB.

SMSA will continue to distribute lighters, matches and cigars for Swedish Match.
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Swedish Match produces and sells market-leading brands in smokefree tobacco
products, cigars, pipe tobacco and lights products. The Company sells products
across the globe, with production units in 11 countries. The Group's global
operations generated sales of 13,879 MSEK for the twelve month period ending
March 31, 2009. The Swedish Match share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm
(SWMA).
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Swedish Match AB (publ), SE-118 85 Stockholm
Visiting address: Rosenlundsgatan 36, Telephone: +46 8 658 02 00
Corporate Identity Number: 556015-0756
www.swedishmatch.com
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For further information, please contact:
Henrik Brehmer, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications
Office +46 8 658 0452, Mobile +46 76 111 3414
Emmett Harrison, Vice President, Investor Relations
Mobile +46 70 938 0173
Lennart Freeman, President, Swedish Match International Division (GMT -5)
Office +1 804 302 1700, Mobile +1 804 400 7015