UST Inc.

UST Inc. (NYSE|UST) is a holding company whose subsidiaries include U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and International Wine & Spirits Ltd., which in turn is a holding company of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, a vintner of premium wines.

UST was founded as the United States Tobacco Co. in 1911, and created the holding company in 1986. The company is incorporated in Delaware, and in the fall of 2006 announced it would move its headquarters from Greenwich, Connecticut to Stamford, Connecticut.

In 2005, UST was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. [cite news |first=Jim |last=Drinkard |title=Donors get good seats, great access this week |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inauguration-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-17 |accessdate=2008-05-25 ] [cite news |title=Financing the inauguration |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inaugural-donors_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date= |accessdate=2008-05-25 ] [cite news |title=Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-14-price_x.htm |publisher=USA Today |date=2005-01-14 |accessdate=2008-05-25 ]

UST reported having an average of 5,111 employees in 2005. That year, UST had a $534 million profit on sales of $1.85 billion.

On November 2, 2006, UST promoted president and chief operating officer Murray Kessler to chief executive officer effective January 1, 2007. Vincent Gierer Jr., who had been CEO since 1993, remained chairman of the board of directors.

In September 2008 it was reported that Altria, owner of the Philip Morris USA group of cigarette companies, was considering a takeover of UST. [cite news |title=UST soars on rumours of Altria bid |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/68257692-7baa-11dd-b839-000077b07658.html |publisher=Financial Times |date=2008-09-06]

UST manufactures smokeless tobacco in Nashville, Tennessee; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; and Franklin Park, Illinois. It also owns vineyards in Washington state and California.

UST held 62.4 percent of the smokeless tobacco market as of the third quarter of 2006, according to an Oct. 26, 2006 report by Morningstar. UST's primary competitors include the Conwood subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., and Swedish Match.

References

External links

* [http://www.ustinc.com/ UST Inc. website]