Icahn Sells RJR Stake Before Spinoff

RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.’s largest shareholder, financier Carl Icahn, sold his 8% stake in the company as it split into separately traded food and tobacco businesses. Icahn, who for four years had tried to wrest control of RJR, pocketed a $130-million profit from selling his 25.7 million shares at $31.87 per share minutes before the close of trading Monday. Icahn’s sale comes as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., the No. 2 U.S. cigarette maker, was spun off from RJR Nabisco after the close of trading Monday. RJR then renamed itself Nabisco Group Holdings Corp., with its main asset its 80.5% stake in Nabisco, the nation’s biggest cookie and cracker maker. The separate companies began trading Tuesday. R.J. Reynolds rose 19 cents to close at $32.44. Nabisco Group fell 25 cents to close at $21.56. Both trade on the NYSE.