Magi Astrology--Financial Astrology

FINANCIAL ASTROLOGY

First Trade Date for Altria Group

Company Name	First Trade Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
Altria Group (Philip-Morris)	1923-03-15

Company Name	Symbol
Altria Group Inc	MO
History and Business of Company (this information may include date of incorporation)
Altria Group, Inc. ("ALG"), through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Philip Morris USA Inc. ("PM USA"), Philip Morris International Inc. ("PMI") and its majority-owned (84.6%) subsidiary, Kraft Foods Inc. ("Kraft"), is engaged in the manufacture and sale of various consumer products, including cigarettes and foods and beverages. Philip Morris Capital Corporation ("PMCC"), another wholly-owned subsidiary, is primarily engaged in leasing activities. During 2003, PMCC shifted its strategic focus from an emphasis on the growth of its portfolio of finance leases through new investments to one of maximizing investment gains and generating cash flows from its existing portfolio of leased assets. ALG's former wholly-owned subsidiary, Miller Brewing Company ("Miller"), was engaged in the manufacture and sale of various beer products prior to the merger of Miller into South African Breweries plc ("SAB") on July 9, 2002. As used herein, unless the context indicates otherwise, Altria Group, Inc. refers to the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Altria family of companies. ALG's family of companies forms the largest consumer packaged goods business in the world.* PM USA is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes. PM USA is the largest cigarette company in the United States. PMI is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates and their licensees are engaged primarily in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products (mainly cigarettes) internationally. Marlboro, the principal cigarette brand of these companies, has been the world's largest-selling cigarette brand since 1972. Kraft is engaged in the manufacture and sale of branded foods and beverages in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Kraft conducts its global business through its subsidiaries: Kraft Foods North America, Inc. ("KFNA") and Kraft Foods International, Inc. ("KFI"). Kraft has operations in 68 countries and sells its products in more than 150 countries. In January 2004, Kraft announced a multi-year restructuring program with the objectives of leveraging Kraft's global scale, realigning and lowering its cost structure, and optimizing capacity utilization. As part of this program, Kraft anticipates the closing or sale of up to twenty plants and the elimination of approximately 6,000 positions. Over the next three years, Kraft expects to incur up to $1.2 billion in pre-tax charges, reflecting asset disposals, severance and other implementation costs, including an estimated range of $750 million to $800 million in 2004. Approximately one-half of the pre-tax charges are expected to require cash payments. In addition, Kraft expects to spend approximately $140 million in capital over the next three years to implement the program, including approximately $50 million in 2004. Annual cost savings as a result of this program are expected to approximate $120 million to $140 million in 2004 and are anticipated to reach approximately $400 million by 2006, all of which are expected to be used in supporting brand-building initiatives. On June 13, 2001, Kraft completed an initial public offering ("IPO") of 280,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a price of $31.00 per share. At December 31, 2003, ALG owned approximately 84.6% of the outstanding shares of Kraft's capital stock through its ownership of 51.0% of Kraft's Class A common stock and 100% of Kraft's Class B common stock. Kraft's Class A common stock has one vote per share while Kraft's Class B common stock has ten votes per share. Therefore, at December 31, 2003, ALG held approximately 98% of the combined voting power of Kraft's outstanding capital stock. On July 9, 2002, Miller merged into SAB and SAB changed its name to SABMiller plc ("SABMiller"). At closing, ALG received 430 million shares of SABMiller valued at approximately $3.4 billion, based upon a share price of 5.12 British pounds per share, in exchange for Miller, which had $2.0 billion of existing debt. The shares in SABMiller owned by ALG resulted in a 36% economic interest in SABMiller and a 24.9% voting interest. The transaction resulted in a pre-tax gain of $2.6 billion or $1.7 billion after-tax, which was recorded in the third quarter of 2002.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: By reading any of the material on this website you agree to our DISCLAIMER: The Magi Society, Magi Astrologers Worldwide Corporation make no claims whatsoever concerning the validity of the information provided herein, and will not be held liable for any use thereof. No information or opinion expressed here is a solicitation to buy or sell securities, bonds, real estate, commodities, options, futures or any financial instruments whatsoever.