British American Tobacco had been trading in Nigeria since 1912. British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited (often abbreviated BAT Nigeria or BATN) is one of Nigeria’s most prominent multinational tobacco companies, operating as a subsidiary of the global BAT Group.
BAT Nigeria expanded into Nigeria to better serve the market by creating the Nigerian Tobacco Company (NTC) with 59% shareholding and the federal government as the shareholder.
By 1978, the company already had three operational factories across the country. In 2000, BAT Nigeria was incorporated while merging with NTC the same year. BAT Nigeria is still a fully owned subsidiary of the BAT Group. The company expanded to Ghana in 1952 and the Republic of Benin in 1984.
British American Tobacco Nigeria completed the acquisition of the Nigerian Tobacco Company by buying the remaining 41% stake in 2000.
