Vector Group

Vector Group Ltd.

Type	Public
Industry	diversified holding
Genre	Holding company
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Miami, Florida
Key people	Bennett S. LeBow, Chairman Howard Lorber, President & CEO
Products	Tobacco, Real estate, Hotels, Property management, mortgage services, Alcoholic beverages
Revenue	$1.133 Billion
Net income	$75.0 Million
Total assets	$927.8 Million
Employees	559
Subsidiaries	New Valley LLC Liggett Group LLC Vector Tobacco Liggett Vector Brands LLC
Website	website

Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is a Miami, Florida-based, publicly traded holding company founded by its Chairman, financier Bennett S. LeBow. Howard Lorber serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Group Ltd..^[1]

The company is headquartered in the Miami Tower in Downtown Miami and has additional offices at 712 5th Avenue in Manhattan. In 2013, Forbes magazine named Vector Group as one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies. ^[2]

Holdings

Subsidiaries

• Liggett Group a tobacco company founded in 1873. Liggett is the maker of Eve 120s branded discount products, and Pyramid, Grand Prix, Liggett Select products in the deep discount category. The company also produces a number of private-label and distributor-exclusive brands for a total of more than 136 brand styles.

• Vector Tobacco Inc., based in North Carolina, is engaged in research relating to reduced risk cigarette products and in the manufacture of conventional cigarettes.

• Liggett Vector Brands LLC, A company that coordinates the sales and marketing, along with certain support functions, for both Liggett Group and Vector Tobacco.

• New Valley LLC. (Formerly known as Western Union), New Valley is seeking to acquire additional operating companies and real estate companies. New Valley owns 50% of Douglas Elliman Realty, which operates the largest residential brokerage company in the New York metropolitan area. Douglas Elliman Realty has more than 60 offices and approximately 3,700 agents.

Investments and Real Estate Holdings

• Ladenburg Thalmann (NYSE: LTS) (7.6%), an investment bank and stock brokerage founded in 1876.

• Castle Brands (NYSE: ROX) (11%), an emerging international importer and marketer of premium spirits. Brands include Clontarf Whiskey, Boru Vodka, and Gosling's Rum.

• Morgans Hotel Group (NASDAQ: MHGC) (5.6%), a hospitality company that owns & operates boutique hotels as well as acquiring and redeveloping in the United States and Europe. Hotels currently owned or managed include the Mondrian Hotel, Delano Hotel, and Shore Club Hotel.

• SG Blocks (OTCBB: SGBX) (8.8%), a company that redesigns, repurposes, and converts heavy-gauge steel cargo shipping containers into safe green building blocks for commercial, industrial, and residential building construction applications. It also offers architectural and engineering design, pre-development, and project management services, as well as oversight of the building erection, cladding, and finishes.

• CoCrystal Discovery, a privately held biopharmaceutical company co-founded by Roger D. Kornberg who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The company is focused on the discovery and development of novel antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of serious and chronic viral diseases.

• OPKO Health (NYSE: OPK), a specialty healthcare company, engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of proprietary pharmaceuticals, drug delivery technologies, diagnostic systems, and instruments for the treatment, diagnosis, and management of ophthalmic disorders.

• Sesto Holdings S.r.l.. New Valley, through its NV Milan LLC subsidiary, acquired a 7.2% interest in Sesto Holdings S.r.l. for $5 million in October 2010. Sesto holds a 42% interest in an entity that has purchased approximately 322 acres in Milan, Italy. Sesto intends to develop the land as a multi-parcel, multi-building mixed use urban regeneration project.

• 100 Eleventh Avenue, a real estate development, which features a 23-story tower at the intersection of 19th Street and West Highway, along the Hudson River in Manhattan, has been designed by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel and consists of 54 luxury residential units and one commercial unit.

• Fifty Third-Five Building, In 2010, New Valley, through its NV 955 LLC subsidiary, contributed $18 million to a joint venture, Fifty Third-Five Building LLC (“JV”), of which it owns 50%. In 2010, the JV acquired a defaulted real estate loan, collateralized by real estate located in New York City for approximately $35.5 million.

• Escena, a 450-acre approved master planned community in Palm Springs, California that includes 867 residential lots with site and public infrastructure, an 18-hole golf course, a substantially completed clubhouse, and a seven-acre site approved for a 450-room hotel.

Former Investments

• Western Union, acquired by First Data.
• EMBRAER, IPO in 2000 (NYSE: ERJ).
• Thinking Machines, acquired by Oracle Corporation.
• MAI Basic Four
• Liggett Ducat, acquired by Gallaher Group.
• Brigham's Ice Cream
• SkyBox International, acquired by Marvel Entertainment.
• L&M, acquired by Altria.

References

1. ↑ http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/en/equities/vector+grp+ltd+dl+10+US92240M1080/master+data
2. ↑ "America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies". Forbes. 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-18.