Weil is advising the Transaction Committee of the Board of Directors of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) in RAI’s merger agreement with British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) under which BAT will acquire the 57.8% of RAI it does not currently own for a reported $49 billion. RAI is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the second-largest U.S. tobacco company whose brands include Newport, Camel and Pall Mall. BAT is a global tobacco group with brands sold in more than 200 markets. The merger would create the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco business. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

The Weil team is led by Corporate Chairman Michael Aiello and includes Mergers & Acquisitions partners Matthew Gilroy and Michael Francies; Securities Litigation partners Greg Danilow and John Neuwirth; Tax partner Kenneth Heitner; Executive Compensation & Benefits partners Paul Wessel and Sarah Downie; Technology & IP Transactions partner Charan Sandhu; Public Company Advisory Group partners Howard Dicker and Ade Heyliger; Antitrust/Competition Co-Head Steven Newborn; Banking & Finance partner Morgan Bale; Capital Markets partner Frank Adams; Regulatory counsel Adam Safwat; Mergers & Acquisitions senior consultant Ian Hamilton and associates Renee Pristas, Jakob Deitch, Aamir Rahman and Katie Simmonds (Not Yet Admitted in New York); Tax associates Lexie Maravich and Emily Cummins (Not Yet Admitted in New York); Executive Compensation & Benefits associates Jennifer Britz and John Kleinjan (Not Yet Admitted in New York); Technology & IP Transactions associate Jennifer Yoon; Antitrust/Competition associates Robert Meyer and Leslie Roter; Banking & Finance associate Justin D. Lee; Capital Markets associate Jonathan Goltser; and Regulatory associate Dana Watts.