OREANDA-NEWS. On 15 July 2014, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (the “Company”) announced that a subsidiary of the Company had entered into a purchase agreement with Reynolds American Inc. (“Reynolds”) for the acquisition of certain US cigarette and e-cigarette brands and assets currently owned by Reynolds and Lorillard, Inc. (“Lorillard”) (the “Transaction”), following the proposed acquisition of Lorillard by Reynolds (the “Acquisition”).

On 27 May 2015 the Company announced that the US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) had given its approval for the Acquisition, subject to a consent order requiring Reynolds to complete the Transaction.

The Company is pleased to announce today that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has now approved the sale of the acquired US cigarette brands to ITG Brands, LLC in accordance with the DOJ case involving those brands. The Company now anticipates completing the Transaction on 12 June 2015, subject to the satisfaction of remaining closing conditions.Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is a multi-national tobacco company, with international strength in cigarettes and world leadership in fine cut tobacco, premium cigars, rolling papers and tubes. The Group has 44 manufacturing sites and around 32,000 employees and operates in over 160 markets.

The DOJ case was a case filed in 1999 by the US Department of Justice against major tobacco companies.  As the acquired US cigarette brands were owned by Reynolds and Lorillard at the time of the final judgment and remedial order in relation to the DOJ case, the closing of the Transaction was conditional upon formal court approval subjecting ITG Brands, the US affiliate of the Company which will acquire the US cigarette brands, to the obligations of the case.

In accordance with LR10.4.2R(2), the Company confirms that, save as disclosed in this announcement, there has been no significant change affecting any matter contained in the announcement dated 15 July 2014 and no other significant new matter has arisen which would have been required to be mentioned in that announcement if it had arisen at the time of its preparation.