Xcaliber International of Pryor, Oklahoma, USA, plans to acquire Tantus Tobacco, a tobacco products manufacturer in Russell Springs, Kentucky. The announcement comes on the heels of the FDA’s final rule that will regulate e-cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco similar to cigarettes.
In conjunction with yesterday’s FDA announcement, Xcaliber has said it will acquire all Tantus cigarette, cigar and pipe tobacco brands manufactured prior to 2007 and move manufacturing to its 100,000-square-foot production facility in Oklahoma. All brands will act as new predicate tobacco products and likely be grandfathered under the new regulations.
The Tantus family brands include 24/7, Mainstreet, Sport, Gsmoke, Berley, Berkley cigarettes, as well as Red Buck and Richwood filtered cigars. Bacco and Red Buck pipe tobacco will also be included in the acquisition. The additional Tantus sales personnel will more than double Xcaliber’s current sales staff and significantly expand their reach into new markets.
Xcaliber was founded in 2001 by Bruce Taylor and Lee Levinson. It has grown into one of the largest discount cigarette manufacturers in the United States. Its current brands include Echo, Edgefield, and Exeter cigarettes as well as Blue Grass filtered cigars.
Xcaliber currently has a presence in more than 50,000 retail locations
“As our production facility and manufacturing efficiency have grown, expanding our product portfolio is a natural progression for us,” says Xcaliber International CEO, Derrick Taylor. “We also saw the FDA’s announcement on the horizon and knew we had to be proactive.”
“I’m thrilled to see Xcaliber take our established brands and extend them into new areas,” says Brian Cooper, founder and CEO of Tantus.
“For many years we produced a quality product that rivaled those of major manufacturers. Xcaliber will provide an opportunity for me to watch products the Tantus team created to grow and prosper. Clearly Tantus and Xcaliber have a great deal of synergy.”
Xcaliber says the manufacturing and sales transition plan should be completed by August 1, 2016.