By Margit Feher
BUDAPEST--British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) will join
forces with a Hungarian tobacco trader to supply shops in the
eastern European country, the Hungarian government said on
Thursday.
British American Tobacco and Taban Trafik will jointly pay 600
million forints ($2.2 million) for the license, Janos Lazar, head
of the prime minister's office, said at a press conference.
Hungary monopolized the retail trade of tobacco in 2013,
radically reducing the number of retail tobacco outlets. Market
experts estimate Hungary's retail tobacco market is worth about 500
billion forints ($1.81 billion) a year.
In December last year, parliament, which is dominated by the
governing Fidesz party, approved legislation on introducing a
single firm licensed by the state as the only tobacco
wholesaler.
Write to Margit Feher at margit.feher@wsj.com; Twitter:
@margitfeher