JTI first acquired KT&G shares 10 years ago as a way to help its Korean business partner prevent a hostile bid from activist hedge fund manager Carl Icahn. KT&G turned to JTI for help, giving JTI great sway over other foreign investors as the sole foreign tobacco business. JTI gradually scaled up its holdings in the Korean firm from the mid-2000s and at one time owned more than 3 percent.
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 offloading its entire stake in Korean tobacco maker KT&G, selling all of its 2,864,094 shares in the company.){kind=link}