Nabisco Holdings Corp

* Philip Morris Cos. and Nabisco Holdings Corp. received a request for additional information from the Federal Trade Commission regarding Philip Morris' proposed $18.9-billion purchase of the snacks and cookie maker. On the NYSE, Philip Morris rose 19 cents to close at $32.19, while Nabisco Holdings fell 31 cents to $53.63, and its parent, Nabisco Group Holdings Corp., fell 13 cents to $28.31.

Kraft Foods Inc., the largest U.S. food company, said it paid $12.3 million to Beta Brands Inc. for the right to sell LifeSavers candies in Canada. Kraft acquired LifeSavers last year as part of its purchase of Nabisco Holdings Corp. Beta Brands still held the rights to sell the fruit-flavored candies in Canada, Kraft said. The acquisition gives Kraft the rights to sell LifeSavers throughout North America. Beta Brands, which will continue to produce the candies for Kraft for two years, sold $4.

* Nabisco Holdings Corp., the nation's No. 1 cookie and cracker maker, plans to raise prices on many of its biscuit brands by an average of 2% this year. The maker of Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers said it will make the move to recover some of the increases in labor costs. "Over the past two years, food companies have not taken many price increases," analyst Nomi Ghez of Goldman Sachs said.

* Philip Morris Cos. is increasing its wholesale cigarette prices by a smaller-than-expected 5 cents per pack largely to cover a tax increase, effective Jan. 1, analysts said. Rivals including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. and British American Tobacco are expected to follow. * Kraft Foods Inc., which is integrating Nabisco Holdings Corp. into its business, is offering some U.S. workers early retirement in a program that is expected to eliminate 1,000 jobs. * Interbrew's $1.

RJR Nabisco Sets Shareholders Meeting: RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., in a letter to shareholders released by the company, said the session will be April 17 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Investors Bennett LeBow and Carl Icahn, who hold 4.8% of the company's stock and are calling for an immediate spinoff of the Nabisco Holdings Corp. food unit, have attacked RJR for not disclosing the date earlier.

RJR Nabisco Investors Urged to Back Spinoff: An independent shareholder advisory firm recommended that investors of New York-based RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. support a nonbinding resolution calling for an immediate spinoff of its food unit.

Nabisco Holdings Corp. agreed to buy struggling Favorite Brands International Inc., maker of Jet Puffed marshmallows and Trolli and Farley's candies, for $475 million in cash. Bannockburn, Ill.-based Favorite Brands, which has annual sales of about $700 million, filed in March for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and to regulatory review. Meanwhile, Favorite Brands said it would welcome other offers.

* Philip Morris Cos. is increasing its wholesale cigarette prices by a smaller-than-expected 5 cents per pack largely to cover a tax increase, effective Jan. 1, analysts said. Rivals including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. and British American Tobacco are expected to follow. * Kraft Foods Inc., which is integrating Nabisco Holdings Corp. into its business, is offering some U.S. workers early retirement in a program that is expected to eliminate 1,000 jobs. * Interbrew's $1.

Webvan Group Inc., an Internet company that sells groceries in San Francisco, said it formed agreements with Clorox Co., Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Nabisco Holdings Corp. to widen its variety of products and attract more shoppers. Financial terms weren't released. The agreements will let Foster City, Calif.-based Webvan offer promotional discounts on these companies' products, boosting sales, Webvan said.

* Philip Morris Cos. and Nabisco Holdings Corp. received a request for additional information from the Federal Trade Commission regarding Philip Morris' proposed $18.9-billion purchase of the snacks and cookie maker. On the NYSE, Philip Morris rose 19 cents to close at $32.19, while Nabisco Holdings fell 31 cents to $53.63, and its parent, Nabisco Group Holdings Corp., fell 13 cents to $28.31.

Philip Morris Cos., parent of Kraft Foods, on Sunday agreed to buy cookie and cracker giant Nabisco Holdings Corp. for $14.9 billion, making the nation's largest food company even more powerful with brands on virtually every supermarket aisle. The announcement comes at a time when many of the largest players in the slow-growing food business have been looking to consolidate in order to cut costs, boost sales and increase their clout with grocery retailers.

French food and water company Danone formally jumped into the bidding for Nabisco Group Holdings, saying it had entered preliminary discussions to buy the U.S. food maker. With the confirmation, the Paris-based company joined financier Carl Icahn and an estimated dozen other prospective bidders for the holding group, which owns 80% of operating company Nabisco Holdings Corp. Icahn, who has been trying to take control of the company sporadically since 1995, sweetened his latest bid to $6.

* Nabisco Holdings Corp., the nation's No. 1 cookie and cracker maker, plans to raise prices on many of its biscuit brands by an average of 2% this year. The maker of Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers said it will make the move to recover some of the increases in labor costs. "Over the past two years, food companies have not taken many price increases," analyst Nomi Ghez of Goldman Sachs said.

Nabisco Group Holdings Corp., whose shares have almost doubled since financier Carl Icahn began a takeover attempt five weeks ago, said Friday that other groups may bid for the company, its snack unit or other assets. "We've received lots of interest," said spokesman Hank Sandbach, who declined to give additional specifics. Nabisco Group last month said it will consider options such as selling itself or its only asset: an 80.5% stake in Nabisco Holdings Corp.

Webvan Group Inc., an Internet company that sells groceries in San Francisco, said it formed agreements with Clorox Co., Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Nabisco Holdings Corp. to widen its variety of products and attract more shoppers. Financial terms weren't released. The agreements will let Foster City, Calif.-based Webvan offer promotional discounts on these companies' products, boosting sales, Webvan said.

Carl Icahn said Monday that he reached an agreement with Nabisco Group Holdings Corp. that will allow the financier to see the company's books and solicit partners for his $4.7-billion takeover offer. In return for the confidentiality agreement, Icahn agreed to drop his month-old proxy fight for Nabisco Group's board. Icahn said he hired Industrial Bank of Japan to study an acquisition of the company, whose only asset is an 80.6% stake in cookie and cracker maker Nabisco Holdings Corp.

Carl Icahn is a corporate raider who's spent the last 20 years being a company's worst nightmare or a stockholder's best friend, depending on your view. But this much is true either way: Icahn's in it for the love of the game. Icahn got very rich and nearly became a household name in the 1980s as a raider of the first order, making headlines with other financiers such as T. Boone Pickens Jr.