RJR Nabisco Asks to Refinance Debt

Sixteen months after the biggest leveraged buyout in U.S. corporate history, RJR Nabisco Inc. is asking its four major bank lenders to help refinance part of the $25 billion spent to take the company private last year, the company said Wednesday.

Banking sources said the refinancing would total $5.3 billion and involve RJR’s worst-performing junk bonds.

RJR Nabisco said it was in discussions with its major creditor banks to amend existing agreements to allow it to buy back a “significant amount” of its debt.