Altria is in talks to take a significant minority stake in e-cigarette company Juul, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Any deal is likely several weeks away, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Juul was last valued at $16 billion in a private fundraising round this summer.
The e-cigarette company has surged in popularity over the past year. Still, that attention has attracted regulatory scrutiny. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has threatened to pull e-cigarettes off the market if the agency’s new restrictions on the sale of fruity flavors don’t slow an “astonishing” surge in teen use.
In response to regulatory pressure, Juul has said it will halt selling most of its flavored nicotine pods for its e-cigarettes in retail stores.
Juul has stopped accepting retail orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods to the more than 90,000 convenience stores, vape shops and other retailers that sell them, CEO Kevin Burns said in a blog post on the company’s website. Consumers will still be able to buy all of Juul’s flavors on its website and its four tobacco and menthol-flavored pods in retail stores, Burns said.
Juul represents about 75% of the e-cigarette market, according to Nielsen numbers compiled by Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog.
Altria sells its own e-cigarette brands, but Juul is the clear leader in the market.
Juul declined to comment. Altria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
