Here we go again. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Altria is in talks to buy out the vaping company NJOY, for an amount reported to be at least $2.75 billion. A deal could be announced as early as this week.

 

The NJOY brand has been around since the beginning of vaping in the US around 2008. They actually were the company that went to court against the FDA and won, to initially allow the sale of vape products in the US. In 2022, they were one of very few vape products that has received FDA approval to market their vape products under an approved PMTA.

 

NJOY is private (as was JUUL) and so there are no published financials. However, it appears they had been growing at JUUL's expense with disposable vape products.

 

I'm sure we'll get more financial information and market share data if MO goes ahead with an acquisition. However, $2.75 billion is a big price tag again. MO appears to believe that vaping is the way to go in the US market. I remain unconvinced, as PM has presented data numerous times about how hard it is to actually make profits with vapes, which is why they continue to prioritize heat-not-burn, and modern oral pouches.