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Axios
Axios
Business
Dan Primack

Altria's $12.8 billion investment in Juul risks becoming a worst-ever corporate investment

Illustration:Aïda Amer/Axios

Altria's $12.8 billion investment for a 35% stake in Juul is at risk of becoming one of the worst corporate investments of all time.

The big picture: Sometimes it's darkest before the light, but right now it looks like Altria got smoked.


The latest: Juul keeps getting hit left and right these past few weeks — particularly after the recent spate of vaping-related lung diseases. Juul is also facing a possible Congressional subpoena after failing to provide documents in July.

  • Last week, President Trump proposed banning all flavored vaping pods from the U.S. market, including mint and menthol.
  • Earlier this week, Juul products disappeared from Chinese e-commerce sites JD.com and Alibaba's Tmall, without explanation.
  • Yesterday, India banned e-cigarettes entirely.

Go deeper: The global anti-vaping tipping point

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