Philip Morris to Acquire Nabisco for $14.9BPhilip Morris, which owns Kraft Foods, announced Sunday that it has reached an agreement to purchase Nabisco, the nation's No. 1 cookie and cracker maker, for $14.9 billion plus the assumption of its $4 billion in debt. Philip Morris, headquartered in New York, is the world's largest tobacco company. Its Kraft Foods subsidiary oversees marketing of its cheese products as well as such brands as Jell-O, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer and Post cereals. The purchase fills a gap in its food portfolio, which had not included cookies and crackers. Philip Morris chairman and chief executive Geoffrey C. Bible said the purchase will greatly expand the company's food offerings.
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