Philip Morris Int’l asks Colombian regulators to reconsider plan to buy Protabaco

Philip Morris Int’l still working to buy Protabaco

NEW YORK — Philip Morris International Inc., seller of Marlboro cigarettes overseas, is asking Colombian regulators to reconsider its application to buy privately owned cigarette maker Protabaco, the second-largest cigarette manufacturer in Colombia.

Colombia’s Superintendent of Industry and Commerce rejected the company’s application to buy Protabaco for $452 million, Philip Morris International said in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Philip Morris International had announced in July it had agreed with Protabaco on the deal, subject to government approval.

The company didn’t say in the filing what the government’s objections were.

Philip Morris International is the world’s largest non-governmental cigarette maker after China’s state-controlled China National Tobacco Corp. It was spun off in 2008 from Richmond, Va.’s Altria Group Inc., the seller of Marlboros in the U.S.

Protabaco owns brands including Mustang, Premier and President.

Philip Morris International shares rose 8 cents to $45.65 in afternoon trading.