Altria’s $13B investment in Juul e-cigarettes vaporizes

By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Altria reports its nearly $13 billion investment in troubled vaping company Juul is worth 95% less than it originally paid. The tobacco giant on Thursday took a $1.2 billion financial hit on its investment in the e-cigarette maker, writing down its value to less than $500 million after U.S. regulators announced plans to ban Juul’s devices. Richmond, Virginia-based Altria is Juul’s largest investor. Company executives signed the pact in 2018, betting that Juul’s vaping devices represented a lucrative new opportunity in the vaping market. But last month the Food and Drug Administration said it would ban the small vaping devices because Juul had failed to provide key information about potentially harmful chemicals in its products.