Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquires nicotine pouch brand XQS

April 25, 2023

Scandinavian Tobacco Group has on Sunday announced an agreement for the acquisition of ‘substantially all assets’ of the Swedish company XQS International.

XQS is active in smoke-free products and its products are primarily sold in Sweden. It is one of Sweden’s leading players in tobacco-free nicotine pouches.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group has entered the fast-growing nicotine pouch category in the UK last October, introducing its first ever non-tobacco product Ström.

The transaction value consists of an upfront payment as well as an earn-out agreement. Assuming all targets are met, the total purchase price will be about DKK 150 million (£18m).

In 2022, XQS’ reported net sales were about DKK 50m with a low single-digit EBITDA margin and a total volume of 3 million cans.

By Kiran Paul

With a background that spans both the agility of startup environments and the established presence of Asian Media Group, Kiran tries to bring a well-rounded perspective to his work. His career as a journalist began at a dynamic news startup, where he honed his reporting and storytelling skills for five years, gaining valuable experience in a fast-paced and evolving media landscape. Since 2018, he has been contributing to Asian Trader, where a standout feature of his work has been his in-depth interviews with award-winning retailers, which he transforms into insightful profiles that appear in each issue. Since 2021, he has also been at the helm of the sister title, Vape Business.

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