PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk. (“PT HM Sampoerna”) traces its origin to Liem Seeng Tee, a Chinese immigrant who founded the Company in 1913. At his home in Surabaya, Indonesia, he began producing and selling hand-rolled kretek cigarettes, named after the crackling sound they make as they burn. His small company was among the first to manufacture and market kretek as well as non-clove cigarettes on a commercial basis.

Kretek cigarettes quickly grew in popularity. By the early 1930’s, Liem Seeng Tee had changed his family name and the name of his company to Sampoerna (Indonesian for “perfect”). With his business firmly established, Seeng Tee moved both his family and his factory to an abandoned complex of buildings in Surabaya, which he subsequently renovated. The new factory and his family residence, which still produce the company’s hand-rolled kreteks today, soon became known as Taman Sampoerna.

World War II, and the occupation of Indonesia by the Japanese, saw the internment of Seeng Tee and the closure of his business.

Following the war, and his release form internment, Seeng Tee restarted his business. However, by 1959, three years after the passing of Seeng Tee, and in the aftermath of Indonesia’s struggle for independence, PT HM Sampoerna was once more on the verge of closure. In that year, Aga Sampoerna (Seeng Tee’s second son) was appointed to lead the company, and succeeded in reestablishing and rebuilding the company.

Aga’s second son, Putera took over the helm of PT HM Sampoerna in 1978. During Putera Sampoerna’s tenure, the company established itself as a public company with a modern corporate structure, and embarked on a period of investment and expansion. In the process, PT HM Sampoerna consolidated its position as one of Indonesia’s top-tier companies.

In May, 2005, subsidiaries of Altria Group completed the acquisition of 98% of the company. A bloc of approximately 40% of the outstanding stock was sold by the controlling Sampoerna family, especially by Putra Sampoerna, and other insiders in a negotiated transaction and the remaining shares were purchased in a tender offer.

The series of transactions valued the company at approximately $5.2 billion. The investment in Sampoerna represented a strategic move for Altria, as although Marlboro is by far the most popular Western-style (non kretek cigarette), most Indonesians still smoke kretek cigarettes.