Imperial to buy Dragonite’s e-cigarette business

Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG) will buy Dragonite International’s e-cigarette business for $75 million, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. The acquisition depends on the approval of Dragonite shareholders.

Simon Evans, spokesman for Imperial, said the acquisition is not related to ITG’s August announcement that it was on track to introduce its own alternative nicotine products in 2014 through its Fontem Ventures subsidiary.

Dragonite founder and Executive Director Hon Lik is credited with inventing the technology behind the e-cigarette. Dragonite says it owns an “extensive portfolio” of global patents and pending patents on e-cigarette technologies.