BAT agrees to buy Reynolds for $49 billion

British American Tobacco has agreed a $49.4 billion takeover of U.S. rival Reynolds American Inc , creating the world’s biggest listed tobacco company after it increased an earlier offer by more than $2 billion. BAT, which already owned 42 percent of Reynolds, will pay $29.44 in cash and 0.5260 BAT shares for each Reynolds share, it said, a 26 percent premium over the price of the stock on Oct. 20, the day before BAT’s first offer was made public.