Altria and Philip Morris end plans to reunite

Tobacco giants Altria and Philp Morris, which were once one company, have ended their discussions to reunite in a colossal merger that could have been worth more than $200 billion.

Shares of Philip Morris, which sells cigarettes internationally and owns the iQOS e-cigarette brand, rose more 5% in premarket trading following the news while Altria, which sells Marlboro and other tobacco brands in the US, was up nearly 3%.

In related news, Altria said that its senior vice president K.C. Crosthwaite would be leaving the company to take over as CEO of Juul, the controversial vaping company that Altria bought a nearly 35% stake in last year for nearly $13 billion.

This is a developing story and will be updated.