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SECURITIES

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Reuters

* U.S. financier Carl Icahn said late Tuesday that he has withdrawn from a fight with RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. intended to force a spinoff of RJR’s foods business rather than its tobacco unit. Icahn, who has advocated a spinoff of the foods business, said several other large shareholders did not want to risk any delay in separating the food and tobacco units. RJR had already told shareholders it would spin off the tobacco business as a separate unit, a move that might have left Nabisco open to tobacco-related lawsuits. Icahn argued that spinning off Nabisco would insulate the food business from having to pay legal damages to smokers. RJR owns 80.5% of Nabisco, which is also publicly traded. Icahn owns 7.7% of RJR.

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