Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquires nicotine pouch brand XQS

Scandinavian Tobacco Group has on Sunday announced an agreement for the acquisition of ‘substantially all assets’ of the Swedish company XQS International.

XQS is active in smoke-free products and its products are primarily sold in Sweden. It is one of Sweden’s leading players in tobacco-free nicotine pouches.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group has entered the fast-growing nicotine pouch category in the UK last October, introducing its first ever non-tobacco product Ström.

The transaction value consists of an upfront payment as well as an earn-out agreement. Assuming all targets are met, the total purchase price will be about DKK 150 million (£18m).

In 2022, XQS’ reported net sales were about DKK 50m with a low single-digit EBITDA margin and a total volume of 3 million cans.