Altria Group, Inc. Announces Distribution Ratio for Spin-off of Kraft Foods Inc. |
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2007--Altria Group, Inc.
(NYSE: MO) today announced the distribution ratio for its previously
announced spin-off of Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT). Altria
shareholders will receive 0.692024 of a share of Kraft for each share
of Altria common stock held as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 16,
2007 (the "record date").
On March 30, 2007, Altria will distribute all of the shares of
Kraft that it owns, representing approximately 88.9% of Kraft's
outstanding shares as of the record date. Altria shareholders will
receive cash in lieu of fractional shares for amounts of less than one
Kraft share.
Altria is mailing an Information Statement today to shareholders
as of the record date, with details about the Kraft spin-off. The
Information Statement and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs)
are available on Altria's investor website at
www.altria.com/Kraftspinoff.
For additional information, registered shareholders in the U.S.
and Canada should contact Altria's transfer agent, Computershare Trust
Company, by email at altria@computershare.com, or by phone at
1-866-538-5172. Registered shareholders outside the U.S. and Canada
should call 1-781-575-3572.
Holders of Altria common stock who hold their shares through a
broker, bank or other nominee should contact their broker or bank
directly or call Altria's information agent, D.F. King & Co., at
1-800-290-6431.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains projections of future results and
other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following
important factors could cause actual results and outcomes to differ
materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements.
Altria Group, Inc.'s consumer products subsidiaries are subject to
changing prices for raw materials; intense price competition; changes
in consumer preferences and demand for their products; fluctuations in
levels of customer inventories; the effects of foreign economies and
local economic and market conditions; unfavorable currency movements
and changes to income tax laws. Their results are dependent upon their
continued ability to promote brand equity successfully; to anticipate
and respond to new consumer trends; to develop new products and
markets and to broaden brand portfolios in order to compete
effectively with lower-priced products; to improve productivity; and
to respond effectively to changing prices for raw materials.
Altria Group, Inc.'s tobacco subsidiaries (Philip Morris USA and
Philip Morris International) continue to be subject to litigation,
including risks associated with adverse jury and judicial
determinations, and courts reaching conclusions at variance with the
company's understanding of applicable law and bonding requirements in
the limited number of jurisdictions that do not limit the dollar
amount of appeal bonds; legislation, including actual and potential
excise tax increases; discriminatory excise tax structures; increasing
marketing and regulatory restrictions; the effects of price increases
related to excise tax increases and concluded tobacco litigation
settlements on consumption rates and consumer preferences within price
segments; health concerns relating to the use of tobacco products and
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; governmental regulation;
privately imposed smoking restrictions; and governmental and grand
jury investigations.
Altria Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries are subject to other risks
detailed from time to time in its publicly filed documents, including
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2006.
Altria Group, Inc. cautions that the foregoing list of important
factors is not complete and does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements that it may make.
CONTACT:
Altria Media Relations
917-663-2144
SOURCE:
Altria Group, Inc.
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