Cookies Or Cigarettes

SMOKING? OR NONSMOKING? PEOPLE ARE OFFERED such a choice by restaurants and airlines. But now investors will be able to choose under a novel stock plan devised by tobacco and food giant RJR Nabisco. As part of a deal to raise $1.5 billion to reduce its $14 billion debt, RJR Nabisco will create two new classes of stock: RN-Reynolds, which will mainly represent the company’s tobacco business, and RN-Nabisco, a proxy for the firm’s food operations. RJR Nabisco is the nation’s largest cookiemaker and the second biggest cigarette manufacturer.

Stock analysts applauded the plan because it will allow the two parts of RJR to be valued for their individual worth. And since some investment funds have been barred from holding RJR shares for ethical reasons, the deal would attract new investors.