Pyxus International

Pyxus International, Inc. is an international storage, sales, distribution company and is a publicly held independent leaf tobacco merchant.[1] The company generates revenue primarily by selling leaf tobacco and relevant processing fees charged from tobacco manufacturers worldwide.[2] As of 2014, the company’s enterprise value is $1.27 billion.[3][4] The company operates more than 50 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Its customer base include tobacco manufacturers in United Kingdom, Japan, China, U.S., Southeast of Asia region and elsewhere.[1] [5]

Pyxus International, Inc.
TypePublic
OTC Pink Current: PYYX
IndustryTobacco wholesale and distribution; cannabis and hemp production
GenreConsumer goods
Founded2005
HeadquartersMorrisville, North Carolina,
US
Revenue$1.6 billion (2022)
Number of employees
3,330
Websitewww.pyxusintl.com

History

Alliance One International was established in 2005, as a result of the corporate merger between Dimon Incorporated and Standard Commercial Corporation.[6] The company changed its name to Pyxus International in 2018.[7]

Dimon was founded in 1995, and later in 1997 it acquired Intabex Holdings Worldwide, which was the world's fourth-largest leaf merchant at the time. The company’s acquisition of Intabex was considered as the biggest one of that kind in the leaf history.[8]

Standard Commercial Corporation, established in 1910, operated tobacco leaf business in Mediterranean area. It was the third-largest leaf merchant of the world prior to the merger with Dimon.[6]

On June 15, 2020, Pyxus International Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's debtors emerged from bankruptcy on August 24, 2020.[9]

Operations

In December 2013, the company announced the expiration of its offer to exchange up to $735 million of 9.875% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2021.[10]

On February 8, 2018, the company announced investments in two Canadian cannabis growers and a United States-based hemp producer.[11]

Bribery and internal controls violations

In 2010 Alliance One pleaded guilty to paying bribes to government officials, as well as ancillary violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), through two foreign subsidiaries of the predecessor firms before the merger. Alliance One agreed to pay criminal penalties totaling $9.5 million and to retain independent monitors for a period of three years, and simultaneously settled a parallel civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), disgorging $10 million in profits. The civil case additionally included internal controls violations.[12]

Thailand

Thai sales agents employed by Dimon and Standard subsidiaries based in Switzerland and Brazil, respectively, had paid bribes totaling $1.9 million to officials of the Tobacco Authority of Thailand in order to secure sales contracts. The bribes had been coordinated among Dimon, Standard and a third competitor, Universal Corporation. The illicit payments flowed from 2000 to 2004, at which point the corporation [12]

Kyrgyzstan

A Kyrgyz subsidiary of Dimon had paid bribes to officials in the tobacco control agency, state government akims, and tax authorities.[12]

Kenya

When the Kenyan subsidiary was restructured and the majority of management replaced in 2015, Pyxus discovered that material weaknesses and management override of controls led to recording of fictitious sales and an aggregate $39 million overstatement inventory, receivables and other assets. This violated filing and record keeping requirements of section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act. Through an administrative proceeding, the SEC ordered the company to stop violating these requirements.[13]


References
  1. "Alliance One Tobacco (Malawi) Ltd - AGE". Institute Development Economies Japan External Trade Organization. ide.go.jp. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  2. "Alliance One International, Inc.: NYSE:AOI quotes & news - Google Finance". Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  3. "AOI Key Statistics | Alliance One International, Inc Stock - Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  4. "AOI Profile | Alliance One International, Inc Stock - Yahoo! Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  5. "Big US tobacco company buys stakes in Canadian cannabis growers, American hemp firm". Marijuana Business Daily. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  6. "Alliance One International : Company History". Aointl.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  7. "Alliance One International, Inc. Proposes Change in Corporate Name to Pyxus International, Inc". www.aointl.com. July 16, 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  8. "Acquisition of Intabex Holding Worldwide". The New York Times. 15 February 1997.
  9. "Post-Reorg: Pyxus Has Limited Flexibility Under Exit Facilities to Strengthen Liquidity; Company Can Incur Up to $10M of 1L Debt, $50M of 2L Debt". www.reorg.com. March 23, 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. "Alliance One International Announces Expiration of Exchange Offer for 9.875% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes Due 2021". Yahoo finance. Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  11. "Publicly-Traded Global Tobacco Company Bets on Cannabis". New Cannabis Ventures. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  12. "Alliance One International Inc. and Universal Corporation Resolve Related FCPA Matters Involving Bribes Paid to Foreign Government Officials". Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  13. ORDER INSTITUTING CEASE-AND-DESIST PROCEEDINGS (PDF)
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