Thompson has found a buyer.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group—the publicly-traded company that owns General Cigar Co. and Cigars International—has acquired Thompson and Co. of Tampa, Inc., a mail order cigar business with $100 million in annual revenue.

The purchase price is for $62 million and the deal is expected to close by the end of March.

“I am pleased to announce this acquisition which strengthens our position in the online retail channel in the US,” said Niels Frederiksen, ceo of STG, in a press release. “Our existing US online retailer Cigars International will in combination with Thompson be able to deliver an unmatched range of premium cigars at the highest level of service to the US consumers. At the same time we foresee significant cost synergies to the benefit of our customers and shareholders.”

Thompson was founded in 1915 and has remained a family-owned business ever since. The company is best known for its catalog, but it also operates an online website and retail store within its Tampa headquarters.

“Having spent 58 years making Thompson Cigar one of the most respected mail order cigar businesses in the country, it is now time to hand over the reins to a new owner that can continue to serve the long-term interest of the company,” said Bob Franzblau, ceo of Thompson. “Becoming part of Scandinavian Tobacco Group will ensure an exciting future of opportunity for our employees, our customers and our suppliers.”

STG says it will use existing cash on hand to finance the deal.

The deal gives STG at least $350 million in annual revenue from its retail operations. Cigars International is the largest retailer in the U.S., while Thompson is one of the four largest alongside Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar.

It puts Thompson and the company’s slew of private label brands alongside some of the largest names in the cigar industry. General Cigar Co. sells Macanudo and CAO internationally, as well as Cohiba, Partagas and Hoyo de Monterrey in the U.S.

When asked about the future of Thompson Cigar, both as it stands now and with the possibility of using the Thompson Cigar name elsewhere, Régis Broersma, president of General Cigar Co., said that “the Thompson brand has equity and will continue to operate as usual, including the website.” He added that they will explore synergies at the appropriate time.

The company declined to specify whether it has plans to use the Thompson Cigar name in other brick-and-mortar locations.

STG closed at DKK 121.40 ($20.24)

Patrick Lagreid contributed to this story.

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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 have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.