NEW YORK — Altria Group plans to spin off its Philip Morris International tobacco unit, a move designed to give the overseas maker of Marlboros and other cigarette brands more freedom to pursue sales growth in emerging markets.
The plans announced Wednesday would leave Altria with a much smaller domestic tobacco business that nonetheless still would rank as the biggest in the United States.
The spin-off would clear the international tobacco business from the legal and regulatory constraints facing its domestic counterpart, Philip Morris USA.
The company's board announced it would finalize its decision and give the exact timing of the spin-off at its board meeting on Jan. 30.
Altria Chief Executive Louis C. Camilleri will become the new CEO of Philip Morris International once the spin-off is completed.
Succeeding him at Altria would be Michael E. Szymanczyk, the current CEO of the Philip Morris USA.
The proposal needs to be cleared by the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said in a statement.
Both Philip Morris cigarette businesses plan to use the Marlboro brand in their expansion efforts.