Altria Group Inc. said Thursday it invested $12.8 billion in cash in Juul Labs Inc., giving it a 35% stake in the e-cigarette firm and helping add to its portfolio outside of regular cigarettes. The cash investment values Juul at about $38 billion, pushing the closely held company’s valuation past other startups such as Pinterest Inc. and Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Altria said Juul will stay completely independent.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 20, 2018 12:39 UTC