OTHER NEWS - April 23, 1992

Philip Morris to Buy Into Czech Cigarette Maker: The giant cigarette maker has agreed to buy a 30% stake in the Czech cigarette manufacturer Tabak Kutna Hora for $104.4 million, the daily newspaper Hospodarske Noviny reported. The paper reported that Czech Deputy Premier Jan Strasky said the U.S.-based tobacco and food giant will invest another $140 million in new technology for Kutna Hora. The Czech government will hold 35% of the stock, and 27% will be distributed to the public, the report said. Consumption of cigarettes in Czechoslovakia, where 38% of the population smokes regularly, has been steadily rising.