Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's third-largest cigarette maker, declined Tuesday to comment on a newspaper report it was a potential bidder for Tekel, Turkey's state-owned cigarette maker.
Turkey's state-asset sales agency and its adviser, Citigroup Inc., have started preliminary talks with potential bidders, Istanbul-based newspaper Milliyet reported Saturday. Turkey aims to sell Tekel by the end of the year, according to the report.
Japan Tobacco, which completed the purchase of Gallaher Group PLC in April, failed in a bid to buy Tekel for $1.15 billion in 2003 after its offer was rejected as too low. The Tokyo-based company is seeking to expand overseas as cigarette consumption falls in its home market, which accounts for 76 percent of its sales.