Juul, a US-based electronic cigarette producer that counts tobacco company Altria among its investors, has increased the size of its latest convertible debt round to $785m, according to a regulatory filing.
The company closed $325m from four investors last month but has since added the additional financing from a further 10, the filing stated. It is targeting an $800m close.
Juul develops flavoured, cartridge-based e-cigarettes intended to act as a less toxic substitute for traditional cigarettes.
The company has expanded into additional markets outside the US and it is now targeting Asia, where it is already present in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, for expansion, according to a Bloomberg report this week.
The financing comes in the wake of Altria paying $12.8bn for a 35% stake in Juul in December 2018. Hedge fund manager Tiger Global Management had provided $600m to lead a $650m round for the company five months earlier, valuing it at a reported $15bn.
Juul had already raised about $117m since being spun off by vaporiser manufacturer Pax Labs in 2017, according to securities filings.
