UPDATE 1-Imperial Tobacco to snag U.S. e-cig lead thanks to deal

(recasts first paragraph, adds details on e-cigs) By Jilian Mincer, Martinne Geller and Anjuli Davies NEW YORK/LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - When Imperial Tobacco Group Plc agreed Tuesday to buy a group of brands from Reynolds American Inc and Lorillard Inc as part of their merger, the British company insisted the assets include Lorillard's blu e-cigarette unit. The brand gives Imperial, which will become the third-largest U.S. tobacco company overall, a big lead in the new and fast-gr