New York -- The Altria Group likely will announce a spin-off of its Philip Morris International tobacco group next week, the Wall Street Journal said Saturday.
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The newspaper said there were several indications pointing to the break-up of the two units based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and in Richmond, Va. With the aim of distancing the new company from legal problems in the United States, the announcement is expected after a board meeting on Wednesday, the Journal said.
There are four major class-action claims pending against Philip Morris USA.
Earlier this summer, Altria announced its international tobacco business would no longer import about 57 billion cigarettes annually from its U.S. company and instead would gets its supply from its 42 manufacturing centers in Europe and Turkey.
Revenue figures also support a spin-off. In 2006, Philip Morris International had revenue of $48.26 billion, compared with $18.47 billion at Philip Morris USA, the newspaper said.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International.
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