British American Tobacco finally agrees to sell its Russian and Belarusian businesses

British American Tobacco announced that it would finally sell its Russian and Belarusian operations, 18 months after its initial announcement.

The tobacco company said it would sell the businesses to a consortium led by its Russian management team.

The group said it expects the transaction to close within the next month once certain conditions are met.

The tobacco company said it would sell the businesses to a consortium led by its Russian management team

Once the sale is completed, the company will be known as ITMS Group.

In a statement, BAT said: “Throughout the transfer process, the interests of our colleagues in Russia and Belarus have been one of our main priorities.”

“Under the agreement, their terms of employment will remain comparable to their existing BAT terms and conditions for at least two years following completion.”

BAT employs over 50,000 people and operates in Russia with a headquarters in Moscow, 75 regional offices and a production facility in St. Petersburg. There is also an office in Belarus.

The company’s Russian and Belarusian division accounted for about 2.7 percent of group sales and about 2.5 percent of adjusted profit at the end of June.

Towards the end of last month, the owner of Lucky Strike and Rothmans reported strong profit growth, supported by price increases and rapidly growing demand for tobacco alternatives.

BAT’s reported operating profit rose 61.4 percent to £5.94 billion in the six months to June 30.

The significant profit growth also reflected comparisons with the previous year, when BAT suffered a £957 million impairment charge related to the transfer of its Russian business.

Shares in British American Tobacco fell 0.02 percent to 2,583 pence in early afternoon trading on Thursday.