British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L) on Thursday said it had agreed to purchase the privately owned Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, S.A.S. (Protabaco), the second largest cigarette company in Colombia, for $452 million. The London-based second biggest cigarette maker in the world said the deal will elevate it to second from third place in Colombia, Latin America's fourth largest cigarette market with total industry sales of around 17 billion cigarettes in 2010. "This investment will strengthen and complement our position in an important market and fill a strategic gap in our Americas region," said Mark Cobben, BAT's director for its Americas region said in a statement. Protabaco sold 5.5 billion cigarettes in 2010, accounting for almost one third of the domestic market. Its biggest brand, Mustang, is the country's second best selling cigarette with a market share of around 18 percent. BAT itself sold 708 billion cigarettes in 2010.
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