After failing to grab much consumer attention for its own smokeless tobacco products, Altria Group said today it would buy the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen for about $10.3 billion.

Altria's acquisition of UST will give it a strong position in smokeless tobacco, a segment of the U.S. market that is growing as cigarettes decline. Henrico County-based Altria owns the Marlboro brand and the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA.

American smokers are buying fewer cigarettes as smoking bans and health concerns dampen demand by 3 percent to 4 percent a year. That has forced tobacco companies to look for sales growth from alternatives such as cigars, chewing tobacco and potentially snus, teabag-like pouches that are popular in parts of Europe. Smokeless sales are growing by about 5 percent to 6 percent a year.

Expanding its presence in the smokeless part of the market has become more urgent for Philip Morris USA after its parent spun off its bigger-earning overseas counterpart, Philip Morris International, in March.

Altria CEO Michael Szymanczyk said today that Altria began seriously thinking about a UST deal after the spin-off, and he called UST CEO Murray Kessler at the end of May to revive discussions that they'd been having on-and-off.

Szymanczyk also said the company would continue to pursue growth of Marlboro brand smokeless products.

"This doesn't remove the opportunity for smokeless from an organic point of view," he said. "That is something we continue to work on."

In its smokeless tobacco business, UST has three manufacturing facilities in Nashville, Tenn., Franklin Park, Ill. and Hopkinsville, Ky. , a spokesman for Altria said.

"In the acquisition of UST we are getting their expertise in manufacturing moist smokeless tobacco. As of right now, the plan is that those facilities with continue in operation," said David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc.

Sylvia said no decision had been made about the future of UST's corporate office in Stamford, Conn.

Altria is expecting to save about $250 million in annual costs by 2011 by reducing corporate and other expenses through combining the companies' operations.

Sylvia said it was too early to comment on the impact on Altria's Richmond-area operations. "Those sorts of details will be worked out as the integration plans are developed," he said.