UK tobacco products manufacturer Gallaher managed to give its share price a boost by selling €150m ($129m) in new shares, reversing the downward slide of its stock since it announced its purchase of competitor Austria Tabak.

The stock rose 1.8% in the first two hours of trading on Wednesday after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Goldman Sachs sold 35.7 million primary Gallaher shares. The closing price on Tuesday night of 425p was down more than 10% from the 475p level it had been at before the Austria Tabak deal was announced last Friday.