Swedish Match Forms Joint Venture with Plasencias


Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010

By David Savona


Nestor Plasencia (background) and his son Nestor Plasencia Jr.
Two of the giants of the cigar industry joined forces this morning in a joint venture. Swedish Match AB of Stockholm, Sweden, the parent company of General Cigar and one of the world's largest producers of handmade cigars, has formed a joint venture company with the Plasencia Group, the largest tobacco grower in Central America.

The joint venture company, called Caribbean Cigar Holdings, will be majority owned by Plasencia, which is run by Nestor Plasencia Sr. and his son Nestor Plasencia Jr. Caribbean Cigar Holdings has been described as a "new tobacco growing/procurement operation for Swedish Match." The company will be run by the Plasencias, who will own 80 percent of the venture.

The Plasencias grow tobacco in Honduras and Nicaragua, and also make a considerable number of cigars for themselves and for other cigar companies.


http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template/0,2344,3105,00.html