 The company began life as a tobacco manufacturer and distributor, Amer-Tupakka, in 1950 and acquired the right to produce and sell Philip Morris cigarettes in Finland in 1961.In the 1960s, the significant profits from the company's tobacco interests were invested in three commercial ships.A publishing and printing division was added in 1970 with the purchase of the Finnish company Weilin+Göös, and the company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1977, four years after changing its name to Amer-Yhtymä ().