U.S.-based tobacco company.
Its origins date to the establishment of Richard Joshua Reynolds's tobacco-plug factory in Winston, N.C., in 1875. The Reynolds Tobacco Co. became a major manufacturer of tobacco products, notably Camel, Winston, and Salem cigarettes. Reynolds began to diversify in the 1960s, and in 1970 adopted the name R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. In 1985 R.J. Reynolds Industries acquired Nabisco Brands. The new company, named RJR Nabisco in 1986, was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in 1989. It was the largest corporate transaction ($25 billion) of its time. KKR divested its ownership in 1995. In 1999 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company became a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. Nabisco was acquired by Philip Morris Cos. Inc. in 2000 and became part of the Philip Morris (renamed Altria Group, Inc. ) subsidiary Kraft Foods, Inc.