These things take time.
The tobacco growing season has just ended. I think the curing process is underway. Even if it is not too late to implement Star's new technique for this season's crop, it will be quite a while before this year's crop makes it into smokers' hands. RJR can't advertise the new product until it is actually on the market. They probably can't even do so until they've waited for all of the 'old' style product is off the shelves. One method of doing that is to introduce it silently and wait a reasonable time to make sure that all retail outlets have been selling the new product before announcing it.
By the way, does anyone know if the new curing process changes the taste of the tobacco or the smoke? If it does, the blending has to be changed, or at least the flavor additives. Last, but certainly not least, as has been mentioned, packaging, ads, etc., have to be developed.
It is unlikely, probably illegal, that the announcement of the settlement will be postponed until after all of these things are accomplished, so there may be many "buying opportunities" in the future. When the settlement is announced, I expect to see a spike in the stock of both companies. Because Star is a relatively unknown, small cap stock, the price will drift down (maybe pushed down by the short sellers) until revenue from the settlement is announced. If the settlement is a sale, this will occur relatively quickly; however, if the settlement is in the form of a per-pack royalty, it will be months before the revenue flow is announced and possibly even a year before they, and the stock price stabilizes.
As I said, these things take time.
Dino
