Jeffrey Wingate, vice president of Quintin USA - the U.S. distributor of Ganesh Bidis - says the company was blind-sided by the show’s report and was investigating the allegations nearly a week after the show aired.

"We were given no notice by CBS about the report," he said, noting and that the company was "still in the fact-finding stage, basically trying to find out what is and what isn’t true. So far, we’ve called the San Francisco branch of U.S. Customs, and we haven’t been given anything from them, including a detention order. Our lawyers are investigating both the truth of the CBS allegations and the actions of U.S. Customs."

Gary Avram of the Specialty Tobacco Council says the "60 Minutes" report was a one-sided affair, and that any detention orders handed out by U.S. Customs would affect only the Ganesh Bidis, and not other bidis manufacturers and distributors.

"We have been unable to confirm either the show’s allegations or the detention order at this time."

Meanwhile, Ganesh Beedi Works has denied that it uses any child laborers in its factory. The 59-year-old company has posted reports on its web site saying the feature story was entirely inaccurate and baseless. The company’s account officer in charge of exports, Krishnaraya Prabhu, says the practice of rolling tendu leaves is a skill that cannot be mastered by a child of nine or ten years of age. The company is contemplating legal action against the CBS network.

In October, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission declined to stand in the way of the merger. French Stock Exchange and the European Commission gave their approval in November, followed by a successful public exchange offer on the Paris Stock Exchange. Altadis stock debuted on the Madrid exchange in December.

Altadis now commands a dominant share of the U.S. cigar market through its holdings Consolidated Cigar Co., Tabacalera U.S.A., Havatampa, and Hollco Rohr.

Habanos holds the rights to all of Cuba’s cigar brands, many of which are made in non-Cuban versions for the U.S. market by U.S.-recognized trademark owners, including Cohiba, Trinidad, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagas, Vega Robaina, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, La Gloria Cubana, Bolivar, Ramon Allones, Por Larranaga, and Fonseca, among others. The company operates a global distribution network through 23 companies worldwide, as well as 69 luxury retail tobacco shops under the franchise Casas del Habano .

The purchase ushers in a new phase in a century-long relationship between Spanish Altadis partner Tabacalera de España and Habanos. The companies already have a number of agreements extending to the supply of Cuban cigar leaf, the distribution of Cuban cigars in Spain, and the supply of Cuban tobacco for cigarette and cigarillo manufacturing in Spain under the Montecristo, H. Upmann, Partagas, and Gloria Cubana brands.

Habanos export volumes are estimated at 150 million units in 1999, up 20 percent over 1998 levels. Sales from distribution to the market are estimated at 120 million pieces, up 13 percent and representing a turnover of $288 million. Net income estimated to be about $64 million, up 21 percent over 1998. Habanos will hold a debt of $100 million at the end of 1999.

Altadis’s payment will be made in several steps over the next three months, an intentional delay to allow for final contracts and the due diligence process.

"From its first issue on May 5, 1874, the [publication’s] focus on tobacco news was a natural outgrowth of the interests of the publication’s founder, Oscar Hammerstien I," U.S.D.J. wrote in its 125th anniversary issue in January, 1999. "He worked for several years on the design of early cigar making machinery, coming to fruition - around 1885 - in several devices which proved basic to the industry in later years."

Highlights include: Hottest Manufactuer: Nick’s Cigar Co. for its La Tradicion Cabinet Series "Perdomo Reserve," and Perdomo2; Best Non-Cuban (all sizes): Fuente Fuente Opus X Robusto; Best Non-Cuban Churchill: Partagas No. 10; Best Cuban Churchill: Punch Churchill; Best Dominican Cigar: Fuente Fuente Opus X Robusto; Best Honduran: Hoyo de Monterrey Seleccion Royale Aristocrat; Best Nicaraguan: Padron 30th Anniversary Exclusivo; Best Bang for the Buck: Bering Imperial; Best Maduro: C.A.O. L’Anniversaire 1968-1998 Maduro; Best Boutique Brand: Cupido; and Best Cuban (all sizes): Bolivar Belicoso Fino.