Seita says door open to Gallaher post Spanish tie
11/08/99
PARIS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - French tobacco firm Seita said on Monday that once it had merged with Spain's Tabacalera it would be open to other ties, including with Britain's largest tobacco firm, Gallaher.
``The door is open to other mergers, Gallaher included,'' Seita's chief financial officer Eric Albranc told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Seita said earlier its boss Jean-Dominique Comolli met the head of suitor Gallaher on Monday and repeated his group's strategic preference for a merger with Tabacalera.
Seita's Comolli was restating a stance taken on November 3 after the French firm's board was informed of Gallaher's interest in making an offer, namely that Seita, the maker of Gauloises and Gitanes, already planned to merge with Tabacalera.
Gallaher, maker of the Silk Cut and Mayfair brands, said later on Monday that because Seita was not prepared to cooperate with it in the formulation of a recommended offer for Seita it would no longer be pursuing the French company.
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