RJR credit syndicated.

RJR Credit Syndicated

RJR Nabisco Holding Co.'s lead banks completed the syndication of a new $6.5 billion credit for the giant food and tobacco company.

The final tally of commitments was roughly $9 billion, according to several bankers.

Although that represents a respectable showing, RJR's underwriting banks will be left holding somewhat larger amounts of the credit than they probably wanted, said an official at one of the underwriting banks.

Secondary Market Eyed

As a result, active selling in the secondary market is expected.

As reported, five agent banks collectively underwrote $2.5 billion of the credit, and the remaining $4 billion was underwritten by a broader group of 16 banks, designated as managing agents.

Additional commitments of about $2.5 billion were raised from banks in the primary syndicate, which closed early this week.

The five agent banks are the banking units of Manufacturers Hanover Corp., Bankers Trust New York Corp., Citicorp, Chase Manhattan Corp., and Fuji Bank of Japan.

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