General Cigar Co. Acquires Leccia Tobacco Portfolio

Sam Leccia is heading to General Cigar Co. Leccia, confirmed to halfwheel that he was joining General Cigar Co. and that the company would be responsible for the distribution and ownership of his three current lines—Black, White and Luchador.

Leccia was left without a distribution parter after General Cigar Co. acquired the Toraño brands last week, effectively shutting down Toraño Family Cigar Co., who has served as Leccia’s distribution partner. He told halfwheel he explored a few options, but ultimately felt like General Cigar Co. was the best opportunity.

News of Leccia’s move was first reported by The Cigar Authority.

Like the Toraño brands, General Cigar Co. has indicated it will keep production of the Leccia brands in the same place and not change the blends.  A press release sent out by the company indicates Leccia will work as part of Foundry Tobacco Company, which is headed up Michael Giannini.

Leccia Tobacco Co. was created early last year as part of Leccia’s return to the cigar business.

General Cigar Co. is part of Scandinavian Tobacco Group. It is believed the parent company’s upcoming public offering is behind its recent desire to acquire other companies. Even before the deal, General Cigar Co. was considered the largest premium cigar company in the U.S.

Update: The story’s original headline indicated that General acquired Leccia Tobacco Company, the press release does in fact indicate it was the Leccia Tobacco brands.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I handle the editing of our written content, the majority of the technical aspects of the site and work with the rest of our staff on content management, business development and more. I’ve lived in most corners of the country and now entering my second stint in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy boxing, headphones, the Le Mans 24-hour, wearing sweatshirts year-round and gyros. echte liebe.