$17-Billion Offer for Nabisco?

RJR Nabisco Inc. announced today that top managers are considering offering to buy the consumer-products giant for almost $17 billion, a deal that would be the largest corporate acquisition ever.

The announcement of a possible $75-a-share offer for the firm that manufactures Oreo cookies and Winston cigarettes underscored the soaring interest in food companies and well-known brand names. It came just three days after Philip Morris offered to buy processed foods manufacturer Kraft for $11 billion and two days after Pillsbury rejected a $5.23-billion bid from the British firm Grand Metropolitan.