Reuters - Japan Gov’t Will Sell a Third of its Stake in Japan Tobacco

Japan's government will sell around a third of its stake in Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's No.3 tobacco company, to raise about $10.4 billion for reconstruction of areas devastated by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Ministry of Finance, which owns just over 50 percent of the $62 billion former state monopoly, is selling 333 million shares, according to a regulatory filing on Monday, Reuters reported. Prior to the stake sale, Japan Tobacco, whose cigarette brands include Winston, Camel, Benson & Hedges and Mild Seven, will buy back as much as 250 billion yen ($2.7 billion) worth of its own shares, Monday's filing showed.

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