Juul’s deal to accept a big investment from the maker of Marlboro cigarettes will snuff out its chance to take the high road with critics, but it will buy the embattled e-cigarette company time and credibility with regulators.
Juul said on Thursday it had accepted a $12.8 billion cash investment from Altria, one of the nation’s largest cigarette makers, for a 35 percent stake that values the three-year-old startup at $38 billion, according to Wells Fargo.
In the long run, nicotine delivery may be just a stopgap. I would guess that Altria will over time come to be a cannabis/cannabinol company.