Altria Group plans to spin off its Philip Morris International cigarette unit, its board announced Wednesday.The decision to fully separate the operations of Altria's domestic and international tobacco companies, makers of the popular Marlboro cigarette brand, frees them to pursue profit more aggressively on their own, and clears PMI from the legal and regulatory constraints of its U.S. counterpart, Philip Morris USA. A spin-off of PMI is the latest step in a restructuring process started in March when New York-based Altria Group Inc. spun off its majority stake in Kraft Foods Inc.

The latest spinoff would leave Altria as the parent company of Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris Capital Corp., as well as owner of a 29 percent stake in the beer company SABMiller.

Both Philip Morris companies plan to use the Marlboro brand in expansion efforts in and out of the U.S.

Executives at the company's Lausanne, Switzerland, headquarters oversee operations in more than 160 countries. Philip Morris USA's headquarters are in Richmond, Va.