Altria To Spin-Off Philip Morris Unit

Altria Group plans to spin off its Philip Morris International cigarette unit, its board announced Wednesday.

Separating the operations of Altria's domestic and international tobacco companies, makers of the popular Marlboro cigarette brand, would free each to pursue profit more aggressively on their own, and would clear the international business from the legal and regulatory constraints facing its U.S. counterpart, Philip Morris USA.

The company announced it would finalize its decision and announce the exact timing of the spin-off at its board meeting on Jan. 30.

Altria Chief Executive Louis C. Camilleri will become the new CEO of Philip Morris International, once the spin-off is completed.

Michael E. Szymanczyk, the current CEO of the domestic cigarette business Philip Morris USA in Richmond, Va., would assume the top post at Altria.

The proposal needs to be cleared by the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said in a statement.

A spin-off of PMI would be the latest step in a restructuring process started in March when New York-based Altria Group Inc. spun off its majority stake in Kraft Foods Inc.

The international tobacco spin-off would leave Altria as the parent company of Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris Capital Corp., as well as owner of a 29 percent stake in the beer company SABMiller.

Both Philip Morris cigarette businesses plan to use the Marlboro brand in expansion efforts in and out of the U.S.

Executives at the international cigarette company's Lausanne, Switzerland, headquarters oversee operations in more than 160 countries.

Plans for the proposed spin-off had been widely anticipated.