Swedish Match sees competition after UST deal

STOCKHOLM, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Swedish Match (SWMA.ST) said on Monday Altria Group Inc's (MO.N) agreed purchase of UST Inc UST.N was not a surprise and the Nordic firm was ready to fight in a very competitive market.

"First of all, it's not unexpected," Chief Executive Lars Dahlgren told Reuters. "We see the industry changing. As you know, there has been quite a lot of speculation that this should happen."

"We have different scenarios that could happen on their strategy, but we prefer to keep them to ourselves," he said. "(Depending on) how they go to market we will respond optimally for our portfolio."

He added: "From that point of view, it's business as usual. It's very competitive out there."

Altria agreed to buy UST, the largest U.S. smokeless tobacco maker, for $10.4 billion, a price that was near the top of the range expected by analysts.

Swedish Match has focused on expanding its business in the United States, a market Dahlgren sees as promising for snus.

Snus, the company's biggest and most profitable product, is a wet tobacco snuff that is placed under the upper lip.

"We see the U.S. as a very promising and interesting growth market for Swedish Match. Long-term, the U.S. offers very interesting snus possibilities," he said, adding Swedish Match was in a good position to take advantage of those possibilities. (Editing by Paul Bolding)