GDANSK/LONDON (Reuters) – Elliott Management Corp., an activist investor, has raised its stake in Swedish Match from 5.5% to 7.25%, it said in a disclosure Friday. This puts pressure on Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, to increase its bid.
Philip Morris made an offer to buy the company that makes Zyn in Stockholm in May. This was a $16 billion bet on the fast-growing market for alternatives to cigarettes.
By Swedish law, 90% of Swedish Match shareholders need to agree to the offer before October 21, but some have spoken out against the 106 SEK per share bid for one of the biggest makers of oral nicotine products in the world.
Philip Morris and Swedish Match did not answer our questions right away. Elliott declined to comment.
($1 is equal to 11.138 Swedish crowns)